Will the resumption of security cooperation between Algeria and Paris restore warmth to relations between the two countries? – New Algeria

Analysts and academic figures agree that it is very difficult to be certain or to be overly optimistic about the success of the visit of French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, but what can be said today is that the visit establishes a new phase built on new understandings that focus on security cooperation in the field of judicial, security and police control, information exchange and readmission for immigrants against whom expulsion decisions have been issued from French territory, and its success is linked to Paris’ response to Algerian demands. Related to security matters.

Dr. Ahmed Mezab, an expert in geopolitical affairs, says, “We must first realize that the visit of French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez came at the request of the French side after a state of stagnation and extreme apathy, as Algerian-French relations went through one of their worst stages since the summer of 2024 after Paris officially adopted the Moroccan autonomy plan in Western Sahara and repeated attempts by parties inside the country to disrupt bilateral relations and work to exploit the crisis between the two countries in the political and electoral debate.”

According to the speaker, Laurent Nunez’s visit to Algeria carries within it several implications, namely “removing obstacles,” “reducing the level of tension,” and also “melting the ice” that has defined bilateral relations. The speaker points out that “it can be said that the visit is considered an acknowledgment by Paris that Algeria is an effective and essential figure in security equations and the necessity of returning security and intelligence coordination, as it is well aware that Algeria is an important player at the regional level.”

Nunes revealed after his meeting with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in the presence of the Minister of the Interior and the Director-General of Internal Security: “We agreed to restore the relations of security cooperation and information exchange between the two countries to their normal state,” adding that the interests of the Ministry of Interior and the leaders of the security services from the two countries worked at length yesterday, Monday, in order to reach the establishment of measures at the highest level regarding the relaunch of security cooperation and issues related to security and information exchange.

In principle, the expert in geopolitical affairs confirms that “it cannot be certain that Paris has gotten rid of the currents that seek to disturb bilateral relations between the two countries or those that have worked to transform media platforms into arenas for targeting Algeria because they still exist and exist, and even their hostile rhetoric with a colonial background continues, but France, at the official level, realizes the impossibility of the situation remaining as it is today in exchange for Algeria’s adherence to the principle Friendship and mutual respect as a basic pillar of bilateral relations, in addition to another set of conditions that the French side is aware of, the first of which is the opening of the national memory file, the French side’s recognition of its historical responsibility and crimes, and that the country and its community not be used as a material for political exploitation within the framework of the internal conflict.”

Dr. Ahmed Mezab believes that “the scene is clear, as the French side seeks to get closer and courteous to Algeria and is based on the security dimension and coordination in the terrorism files, especially on the intelligence side, which is what Nunez alluded to in his statements after his meeting with the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune. This file also formed the focus of intensive meetings between Interior Minister Said Saioud and his French counterpart and the delegation accompanying him, which confirms the importance of this file and the necessity of relying on the Algerian experience in particular. France is suffering from a state of comprehensive instability as a result of interconnected crises, the most prominent of which are stifling political crises since the 2024 elections with a divided parliament and the successive fall of governments, in addition to a structural economic crisis with the worsening public debt (about 114 percent of the gross domestic product) and the budget deficit. This is accompanied by social tensions, widespread protests, and a decline in confidence in the government’s ability to manage the country’s affairs.

Another reason that drives France to normalize its relations with Algeria is that it views it as a regional actor and a key driver of the stability of the Sahel region, and it seeks to enhance security cooperation with it to combat terrorism and crime. The spokesman says, “Paris considers Algeria a strategic partner capable of helping in managing crises in the region.”

At the conclusion of his reading, Dr. Ahmed Mezab believes that “it cannot be certain that we are facing a new phase in relations between Algeria and France after many months of tension and stagnation,” and he says that “the term that should be used is that we are facing attempts to break the knot on the part of the French side in order to gradually revive partnerships and return relations to their normal course.”

The French Minister had confirmed that the next stage would witness the actual start of implementing the agreed-upon measures as soon as possible, allowing for practical impetus for bilateral security cooperation and the translation of political understandings into concrete field mechanisms.

At the conclusion of his statements, the French official expressed his complete satisfaction with the results of his visit to Algeria, stressing that the governments of the two countries share a common will to enhance cooperation, not only in the security field, but also in issues related to migration, ensuring the continuation of bilateral coordination at the highest level, and consecrating a partnership based on trust and common interests.

Algerian-French relations had witnessed a major crisis since the summer of 2024, after Paris announced its support for the Moroccan autonomy proposal in Western Sahara, in a shift that Algeria considered an attack on the balance of the traditional French position on the conflict. Algeria announced at the time that it was withdrawing its ambassador from Paris for consultations, and the crisis witnessed major repercussions, especially in the immigration files, especially with regard to the readmission of irregular immigrants.

Fouad Q