Can France and Algeria get their relationship back on track?
This article was originally published with the Institute for Global Studies and has been adapted and republished with permission.
There are signs of a thaw between Algeria and France, nearly two years after the onset of the serious diplomatic crisis between the North African nation and former colonial power. Ambassador Stéphane Romatet may soon return to lead France’s diplomatic mission in Algiers, as both countries have taken concrete steps on the diplomatic front. However, there appears to be no real political strategy in Algeria for redefining its relationship with France, with the risk that progress in the current favorable moment could lose momentum and end with the two countries stuck in a new limbo.
Over recent months, Algeria has softened its positions on issues related to the colonial past. In particular, on March 9, the Algerian parliament approved an amended law condemning French colonial rule, removing provisions that had called for France to issue official apologies and broad compensation. The Algerian Senate had called for the removal of these provisions, saying that they did not reflect President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s official approach. The amended law helped to at least partially ease the long-standing dispute with France.
Additionally, during these months, Algeria and France resumed high-level communication. For example, in February, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez traveled to Algiers for a two-day visit, restoring contact with the Algerian government within the framework of security cooperation. And on March 15, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf and his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot talked cordially on the phone after nearly a year of no contact.
These are positive signs, suggesting an abatement in the crisis, which began when France expressed support for the recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. Algeria reframed that move within the context of claims related to French colonial rule—an issue that remains sensitive and never fully resolved. During the crisis, France recalled its ambassador, so the announcement that the French ambassador would return to Algiers is a positive signal, opening the door to a more balanced and constructive bilateral dialogue, especially in light of the importance France holds for the Algerian economy.
At the same time, however, Tebboune’s openings risk being little more than symbolic, without the initiation of a more decisive and profound revision of the bilateral relationship, which remains burdened by the often-inconsistent posture of Algerian institutions toward the former colonial power. Algeria has not matched its recent diplomatic progress with a coherent political strategy, leaving the relationship with France vulnerable to renewed stagnation and uncertainty. It is also unclear whether the thorny issue of the Western Sahara will continue to be a central point in dialogue with France as well as, more broadly, France-Morocco relations, which have grown in scope and intensity over the past two years and are now certainly not negotiable in the context of a renewal of relations with Algiers.
Further complicating Algeria-France relations is the unstable nature of regional alliances, strongly influenced by the Trump administration and increasingly assertive Israeli policies regarding Gaza and Iran. Algeria is closely observing the growing friction between French President Emmanuel Macron, US President Donald Trump, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, believing that French foreign policy contains elements of alignment with Algerian positions. No less important is the emerging energy crisis, which opens up opportunities for further cooperation with European countries and with France, in that Algiers could play a leading role in helping major European countries diversify their suppliers of oil and gas.
Algeria is also actively engaged in developing the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline linking Nigeria to the Mediterranean through Niger, which could significantly help meet European energy demand—if the project can finance its high development costs and bolster against insecurity in the Sahel. Algeria could seize on the opportunity of the pipeline and use it to consolidate economic relations with France—although deeper layers of the Algerian “pouvoir” could condition such a partnership on a revision of French positions on Western Sahara, running the risk of bringing relations between the two countries to another abrupt halt.
Additionally, Algeria’s ongoing efforts to restore its regional influence in the Sahel may prove a critical factor in the relaunch of Algeria-France relations, particularly as Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali currently maintain very poor relations with Paris. Algeria is looking toward the Sahel in an effort to rebuild a network of Sahel partners capable of isolating Morocco. It is also looking to re-establish Algiers’ primacy, in looking to strengthen ties with countries that have rocky relations with or outright oppose France, the United States, and Israel.
Such an orientation is likely, in the short term, to bring the issue of Western Sahara back to the center of Algerian discourse, potentially placing France in a position in which it must weigh its renewed relationship with Morocco against the uncertain opportunities offered by Algeria.
Karim Mezran is the director of the North Africa Initiative and a resident senior fellow with the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East programs at the Atlantic Council.
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Image: French and Algerian flags hang as the French president is welcomed by his Algerian counterpart upon arrival at the airport in Algiers on August 25, 2022, Photo by Jacques Witt/Pool/ABACAPRESS via Reuters.