France’s Desperate Bid for Italian Mediation: A Smokescreen to Conceal Its Blunder on Western Sahara

BY: Dr. Hana Saada

Paris Seeks to Bypass Its Diplomatic Fiasco by Pressuring Algiers Over Boualem Sansal

Algiers, Algeria | March 3rd, 2025 — France is scrambling to distort the root cause of its escalating crisis with Algeria, reducing it to the imprisonment of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal. This diversionary tactic is a desperate attempt to deflect attention from the real issue: President Emmanuel Macron’s illegal and unethical stance on the Western Sahara conflict, which has shattered bilateral ties and pushed relations toward an unprecedented rupture.

 

French media platforms, saturated with biased rhetoric, have fueled this misleading narrative. These so-called “torchbearers of discord” relentlessly portray Algeria as the primary instigator of the diplomatic fallout, deliberately ignoring Paris’ provocation that lies at the heart of the matter. The media fervently recycles accusations against Algeria, including claims that Algiers refuses to repatriate nationals subject to expulsion orders from France. Simultaneously, they audaciously demand Sansal’s release, disregarding Algeria’s sovereign judicial process. Few voices within the French establishment dare to acknowledge the true catalyst of the crisis: Macron’s blatant endorsement of Morocco’s expansionist agenda in Western Sahara, compounded by a series of calculated provocations, including the visits of high-ranking French officials such as Minister of Culture Rachida Dati and Senate President Gérard Larcher to the disputed territory.

 

Against this backdrop, former French ambassador to Algeria, Xavier Driencourt, has urged his government to enlist Italy’s mediation in securing Sansal’s release. Exploiting Algeria’s burgeoning strategic partnership with Rome, Driencourt seeks to leverage Italy’s diplomatic goodwill—an admission of France’s dwindling influence in Algiers. In an interview with the “Opinion” column of Le Figaro, he voiced deep pessimism regarding the longevity of the crisis, warning that tensions could persist until the end of Macron’s presidency. “I have been calling for a radical overhaul of our relations with Algeria for weeks, if not months,” he admitted, advocating for Italian intercession as a stopgap solution.

 

Driencourt’s proposal hinges on the rapport between Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Italian leaders—Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella, the latter being 92 years old. He suggests that their intervention could facilitate Sansal’s release, overlooking the fundamental fact that the writer is imprisoned on charges of treason, espionage, and endangering Algeria’s national security. In contrast, he dismisses any role for the European Union, citing its preoccupation with the Ukrainian crisis and insinuating that North Africa remains France’s exclusive domain—a glaring testament to Paris’ colonial mindset.

 

His remarks expose the French political elite’s deliberate effort to whitewash the real cause of the crisis: Macron’s reckless betrayal of diplomatic norms. Rather than addressing their President’s flagrant deviation from international law, they attempt to reframe the standoff as a dispute over Sansal and migration policies. This myopic approach disregards the elephant in the room: Macron’s unilateral alignment with a crumbling, theocratic Moroccan regime, whose medieval expansionist aspirations have thrown a wrench into North African stability. By siding with Rabat, Macron not only abandoned neutrality but also inflicted a fatal wound on Franco-Algerian rapprochement—an act for which France must now pay the price.

 

Algerian political analysts unanimously warn that any concession to Paris without a full reversal of its Western Sahara policy would be sheer folly. France’s diplomatic misstep is not an isolated incident but a calculated maneuver that violates UN resolutions and international legal frameworks. The onus is now on Macron to rectify his miscalculation, rather than expect Algeria to absorb the consequences of his strategic blunder.

 

Translated with adaptation from:

 

https://www.echoroukonline.com/%d9%85%d8%b7%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a8-%d9%81%d8%b1%d9%86%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a8%d9%88%d8%b3%d8%a7%d8%b7%d8%a9-%d8%a5%d9%8a%d8%b7%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%84%d8%aa%d8%ac%d8%a7%d9%88%d8%b2-%d8%a7%d9%84

 

 

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