France’s Crumbling Influence: Algeria Poised to Deliver the Final Blow!

Translated by: Dr. Hana Saada

Paris Faces the Inevitable Reckoning as Algiers Defends Sovereignty

Algiers, Algeria | February 28th, 2025 — Over the past few years, France has faced a dramatic erosion of its influence across Africa, particularly in the Sahel, where one former colony after another has expelled French forces, rejecting the neocolonial entanglements Paris had imposed under self-serving defense agreements. The latest domino to fall was Chad, which terminated its defense accords with France in November 2024, effectively erasing the last remnants of French military dominance in the region. Yet, despite mounting domestic criticism over these humiliating setbacks, French leaders seem undeterred, as their latest diplomatic maneuvers against Algeria indicate a reckless disregard for lessons learned from their past failures.

 

Following an emergency ministerial meeting on February 26 to discuss immigration and tensions with Algiers, French Prime Minister François Bayrou declared that France would demand a “review” of all agreements signed with Algeria in 1968, giving the Algerian government a so-called “grace period” of one to six weeks to comply. Bayrou provocatively claimed that these agreements had not been “respected” and insisted that France “could no longer tolerate” the current situation. Furthermore, he announced that France would soon submit an “urgent list” of Algerians it wanted deported.

 

A day prior, on February 25, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot revealed that France had already imposed entry restrictions on certain Algerian officials, a decision allegedly linked to the arrest of Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal in Algeria. Paris framed this as retaliation for Algiers’ refusal to accept deported Algerians, with Barrot bluntly stating that these “additional measures” would only be lifted if Algeria capitulated to France’s demands.

 

Algiers, however, was unfazed. The Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded with sharp indignation, denouncing the latest French policies as yet another episode in a long chain of “provocations.” The ministry warned that any move to tamper with the 1968 migration accords—which had already been stripped of much of their original content—would be met with reciprocal action against France, affecting agreements and protocols of a similar nature. More significantly, Algiers rejected what it described as the “language of ultimatums, threats, and deadlines,” making it clear that France’s arrogance would not dictate Algerian policy.

 

France’s Manufactured Crisis: A Smokescreen for Internal Failures

 

France’s hostile measures against Algeria follow an attack in Mulhouse, eastern France, allegedly carried out by an undocumented Algerian migrant under a deportation order. However, analysts argue that Paris is exploiting this incident as a pretext to escalate tensions with Algiers, masking its own failures in immigration policy and domestic security. French intelligence agencies have long been accused of double standards when it comes to handling extremists within France itself, while hypocritically blaming foreign states for their own governance shortcomings.

 

The tensions between Paris and Algiers have been simmering for years, with a series of French provocations worsening the already fragile relationship. In February 2023, Algiers accused French intelligence of orchestrating covert operations aimed at destabilizing Algeria, a charge that arose after the illegal exfiltration of activist Amira Bouraoui to France despite her being under judicial supervision in Algeria. The scandal led Algiers to recall its ambassador and condemn France’s brazen interference.

 

The breaking point, however, came on July 30, 2024, when Paris officially backed Morocco’s so-called “autonomy plan” for Western Sahara. This was a direct affront to Algeria, which has long championed the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination. Furious over this betrayal, Algiers immediately recalled its ambassador and scrapped a planned presidential visit to France in October 2024. Adding insult to injury, French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to Morocco on October 24, where he reaffirmed France’s unwavering support for Moroccan “sovereignty” over Western Sahara before the Moroccan Parliament, further antagonizing Algeria.

 

December 2024 saw another scandal erupt, as Algeria obtained concrete evidence of French intelligence agencies directly orchestrating subversive activities within its borders. French operatives were found to have recruited former Algerian terrorists, tasking them with carrying out destabilizing operations inside Algeria. In response, Algiers summoned French Ambassador Stéphane Romatet for a formal reprimand, signaling that patience was wearing thin.

 

Algeria Strikes Back: Dismantling French Influence, One Step at a Time

 

Faced with continued French hostility, Algeria has embarked on a decisive strategy to erode France’s lingering economic, linguistic, and cultural foothold. The most significant blow has come in the education sector, where Algeria has aggressively phased out the French language in schools and universities in favor of English. Simultaneously, the use of French in administrative and governmental institutions has been systematically eliminated.

 

The economic front has been equally devastating for France. French businesses, which once enjoyed preferential treatment in Algeria, have seen their market share dwindle. The Algerian government has drastically reduced France’s commercial influence by cutting contracts and investment opportunities for French firms. French exports to Algeria have plunged from $3.2 billion in 2023 to a meager $600 million in 2024—a financial bloodbath that underscores how deeply French economic interests are suffering due to Algiers’ retaliatory policies.

 

The Endgame: A Diplomatic Divorce on the Horizon?

 

With relations plummeting to an all-time low, the possibility of a total diplomatic rupture between Algeria and France looms large.

France’s once-unquestioned dominion over the Sahel is now a relic of the past. Having been driven out of one African country after another, and now facing an unyielding Algeria, Paris must finally confront the reality that its neo-imperialist ambitions have no place in a changing world order. If history is any indication, Algeria will not bow to ultimatums. The only question left is how much further Paris is willing to fall before it acknowledges its irrelevance.

 

 

 

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