Algeria has confirmed a sharp diplomatic turn against France by terminating two major bilateral agreements with the former colonial power on August 7, 2025.
This breakaway posture comes amid a regional climate in which Algeria is heightening tensions, particularly with its Sahelian neighbours and Libya.
The Algerian government’s decision to end visa exemptions for French holders of diplomatic and service passports, as well as the real estate privileges granted to the French embassy, marks a new low in deteriorating Franco-Algerian relations.
Officially framed as a measure of “strict reciprocity” in response to Paris’ suspension of diplomatic visas for Algerian officials, the unilateral move reflects above all a broader strategy of confrontation.
In recent years, Algeria has gradually replaced a balanced diplomacy with a systematic hard line approach, favouring shutting down channels of dialogue over their revival.
The current regulatory and rhetorical offensive against France mirrors repeated frictions with its Sahelian neighbours, notably Mali and Niger, where Algeria has struggled to maintain a positive influence in the face of distrustful military regimes.
In Libya, Algiers’ perceived ambiguity towards rival factions has also fuelled tensions, undermining its credibility as a regional mediator
By multiplying hostile signals — suspending agreements, challenging partners, tightening diplomatic conditions — Algeria projects the image of a state more concerned with asserting power than building consensual solutions.
This hard line stance risks deepening its isolation, even in a regional context where security cooperation remains essential in the face of increased militarisation in the Sahel, uncontrolled migration flows and ongoing instability in Libya.
While Algeria presents these actions as restoring balance in its relations, they in effect embrace the same coercive tools it previously condemned. Such a choice could weaken its strategic partnerships and further limit its diplomatic manoeuvering space in an already unfavourable geopolitical context.
Source:APA News
