Overview

• Nawal and Sabeha Sansal have published an open letter urging French President Emmanuel Macron to intervene for their father's release.
• Boualem Sansal, a Franco-Algerian writer, was sentenced to five years in prison in March 2025 for allegedly undermining Algeria's territorial integrity.
• Concerns over Sansal’s health have grown, with his daughters emphasizing his age, illness, and deteriorating condition in detention.
• France and Algeria have exchanged diplomatic expulsions in recent days, intensifying an already strained relationship tied to historical and territorial disputes.
• French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has pledged continued efforts to secure Sansal's freedom, responding directly to the daughters' appeal.