Algeria: Retailleau "does not accept that France is humiliated" and wants to enter into a "balance of power"

"Who in France can claim that harshness is not on the side of the Algerian regime?", asked Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau on Monday, February 24, pointing to the case of writer Boualem Sansal imprisoned in Algeria. "I do not accept that France is humiliated," added the head of Placeau Beauvau on the sidelines of the Agricultural Show .

He said on Saturday that he was ready to enter into a "power struggle with Algeria". The reason was Algiers' refusal to take back one of its nationals under an obligation to leave French territory, before he killed a man and injured seven others in a knife attack on Saturday in Mulhouse .

Asked about the criticism of former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin , who had deplored an "exaggeration" in his comments on Algeria, Bruno Retailleau replied that he "didn't give a damn".

"There is a man (Boualem Sansal) whose life is in danger and a country that ignores international law. Dominique de Villepin should know international law," replied the tenant of Beauvau.

"I say things as I think them and if it bothers some people, that's all the same," he added, believing that France "did not deserve" the treatment Algiers is giving it.

"Especially since the President of the Republic extended his hand. Were we repaid? No!", he lamented.

The often rocky relations between France and Algeria have deteriorated since the summer of 2024 following the announcement of France's support for Morocco's autonomy plan for the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Several issues then continued to darken bilateral relations, including the incarceration since mid-November of Boualem Sansal and the arrest in France of several Algerian influencers for advocating violence.