Algeria Revokes Visa-Free Agreement with France

(MENAFN) Algeria has formally annulled a long-standing agreement that allowed French diplomatic and service passport holders to enter the country without visas, escalating a worsening dispute with Paris. The move follows what Algiers described as France’s acts of “provocation, intimidation, and bargaining.”

In a statement issued Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry revealed that French authorities had notified them of the suspension of a 2013 bilateral visa accord. In response, Algiers summoned a senior official from the French Embassy, delivering two notes verbales, one of which sharply criticized France’s action.

“This denunciation goes beyond the simple suspension previously notified by the French side and definitively puts an end to the very existence of this agreement,” the ministry said.

Algeria also signaled that it would now enforce the same visa policies on French diplomats that France applies to Algerians. “It [Algiers] reserves the right to apply to the issuance of these visas the same conditions as those set by the French Government for Algerian nationals. This is a strict application of the principle of reciprocity,” the ministry added.

Tensions between the two nations have been steadily rising since July 2024, after French President Emmanuel Macron publicly backed Morocco’s contentious autonomy plan for Western Sahara—a move that angered Algiers, a long-time supporter of the territory's independence.

In July this year, Algeria retaliated by revoking all privileged access cards previously granted to French Embassy staff at Algerian ports and airports, citing reciprocal treatment for restrictions imposed on its diplomats in France.

According to a report published Wednesday by a newspaper, Macron had recently issued directives to Prime Minister Francois Bayrou instructing him to impose tighter visa regulations for Algerian diplomatic personnel. The French president also tasked his interior minister with rallying Schengen countries to consult Paris before approving short-stay visas for Algerian officials and individuals covered under the 2013 visa exemption.

“France must be strong and command respect. It can only receive this from its partners if it shows them the respect it demands from them,” Macron said.

Further intensifying the diplomatic standoff, Algeria announced it would also cease the free allocation of government-owned properties used by the French Embassy in Algiers. The measure, officials said, aims to “introduce balance” in the countries’ increasingly strained bilateral relationship.

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