Algeria Cancels French Embassy Access

(MENAFN) Algeria has officially rescinded all special access permissions previously granted to the French Embassy for entry to Algerian harbors and airports.

This decision, announced on Saturday, is a retaliatory step in response to what Algiers describes as restrictive actions imposed on its diplomats operating within France.

According to a formal declaration by the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the government has “reclaimed all privileged access cards to the country's ports and airports that had been granted to the French Embassy in Algiers.”

This retraction underscores Algiers’ dissatisfaction with the current diplomatic climate between the two nations.

The decision follows the ministry's summoning of the French chargé d’affaires for a second time on the same day.

The ministry denounced what it called a “blatant violation of international obligations” by the French administration, pointing to the blocking of both the dispatch and receipt of diplomatic pouches as a primary concern.

Initially, these obstructions were limited to the Algerian diplomatic mission in Paris. However, the Algerian Foreign Ministry reported that the hindrances have now also impacted its consular establishments throughout France.

This development has occurred despite prior commitments from the French Foreign Ministry to reconsider such policies.

This standoff represents a significant deepening of tensions, marking the gravest diplomatic confrontation between Algiers and Paris since Algeria gained independence in 1962.

The strain in relations intensified further in July 2024, when both governments decided to scale down their diplomatic presence to the level of chargé d’affaires.

That move followed France's formal support for Morocco’s autonomy proposal regarding Western Sahara—an initiative that Algeria firmly contests.

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