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Rabat – France has officially suspended a bilateral agreement with Algeria that granted visa exemptions for holders of diplomatic and service passports.
The decision, published in the country’s official gazette on August 19, comes in response to Algeria’s earlier decision to halt the implementation of the same accord.
Signed in Algiers on December 16, 2013, and enacted by Decree No. 2014-1003 on September 4, 2014, the agreement facilitated short-stay visa-free travel for Algerian and French officials. Algeria ceased applying its provisions on May 11, 2025.
In line with the principle of reciprocity, France suspended the agreement on May 16, with the suspension formally taking effect on August 7, 2025, as stipulated under Article 8 of the accord.
That same day, Algeria announced the termination of the agreement, portraying its move as a response to France’s suspension. In a statement, the Algerian Foreign Ministry accused Paris of “distorting reality” and attempting to deflect blame for the worsening state of bilateral relations.
The ministry criticized a letter from French President Emmanuel Macron calling for the temporary suspension, claiming, “it was France, and France alone, that initiated such a request. By deciding to suspend this agreement, France is offering Algeria the perfect opportunity to, in turn, announce the outright termination of that very same agreement.”
Read also: Algeria Escalates Diplomatic Row by Scrapping Visa Deal with France
In response to a series of measures imposed by Algerian authorities on French diplomats, including expulsions and travel limitations, Macron’s letter called for the formal suspension of the 2013 visa exemption agreement.
The visa exemption pact had facilitated high-level mobility between the two nations, particularly for Algerian officials traveling to France. However, instead of preserving this framework, Algiers chose to withdraw completely following France’s decision.
Relations between the two countries have grown increasingly strained in recent months, particularly since France’s recognition in July 2024 of Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara.
Observers agree that this move was both a strategic and humiliating blow for Algeria, whose government is the principal enabler and main sponsor of the Polisario Front’s separatist drive in Morocco’s southern provinces.
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