Overview

• Macron directed Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot to formally suspend the 2013 agreement exempting Algerian diplomatic and official passport holders from visa requirements.
• He asked Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau to secure agreements with Schengen countries to consult Paris before issuing short-stay visas to Algerian diplomats.
• France cited Algeria’s refusal to repatriate nationals under its OQTF deportation regime and growing migration and security tensions as reasons for the tougher stance.
• Algeria’s Foreign Ministry condemned the move as a one-sided narrative and vowed to reinstate visa requirements on French diplomats in retaliation.
• The escalation deepens a dispute already fueled by France’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and the imprisonment of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal and journalist Christophe Gleizes.