While Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was due to make an official visit to France on May 2 and 3, 2023, this trip has been postponed to a later date.
The visit was to take place in less than two weeks. On May 2 and 3, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was to travel to Paris, a few months after France and Algeria had returned to almost normal relations. In recent months, meetings have multiplied between French and Algerian officials. But a phone call changed everything: on Monday, Ahmed Attaf, the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, called his French counterpart Catherine Colonna to warn her that the conditions were not met for Tebboune to go to Paris. The official visit of the Algerian president has therefore been postponed indefinitely to June.
The mission is in any case delicate for Ahmed Attaf. Barely appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in place of Ramtane Lamamra, the new head of diplomacy only had a month to pick up his cruising speed. Because the Algiers-Paris file is one of the hottest of the moment. Attaf told Catherine Colonna that there would not be enough announcements to make, particularly concerning the agreements between Paris and Algiers, for the Algerian president and that the visit could therefore not take place at the beginning of May.
Nothing advances
According to the press, the main subject of disagreement between the two countries is the decontamination of former French nuclear sites in southern Algeria. Another major subject: the restitution of colonial archives and those linked to the Algerian War. However, France has not yet given guarantees on these two subjects in Algiers. It should be the story of a few days, to settle this, but Emmanuel Macron has no more place in his agenda before June.
Paris therefore had to cancel the festivities planned for Tebboune, in particular the parade at the Invalides or even the visit to the very strategic Grand Mosque of Paris. But in this file, we see that Algiers has taken control and that Paris must suffer. The fault in particular with the situation: France must look after Algiers, whereas it has energy needs more and more important and that the war in Ukraine does not end. But also, since the Bouraoui affair, Paris must take tweezers.
The Élysée therefore acceded to the Algerian request, despite some hesitation. It is also said behind the diplomatic scenes that even in June, the visit could not take place. It is necessary, according to a source close to the French presidency, to accelerate the establishment of bilateral files. Above all, it is necessary to take stock of the latest crises that have opposed the two countries.
Last difficulty: the situation in France. Emmanuel Macron has passed a highly contested reform on pensions. The protest movements are linked and the situation is more and more chaotic in France. While King Charles III considered maintaining his visit to France for a time before canceling it, Tebboune does not seem to want to go to a country with a deleterious social climate. The times are changing…