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France has formally suspended a bilateral agreement with Algeria that had allowed holders of diplomatic and service passports to enter French territory without a visa.
The decision was published in the official bulletin on August 19, marking the definitive end of a 12-year-old diplomatic privilege and signals a new phase of hardened relations between Paris and Algiers.
The 2013 agreement, signed in Algiers and enacted by decree in 2014, was originally intended to facilitate high-level exchanges and cooperation between the two governments.
However, the political climate has shifted dramatically. On May 11, Algeria unilaterally ceased applying the agreement. France responded five days later by suspending the visa exemption on its side, citing the principle of reciprocity. The formal notification and legal finalization of the suspension came into effect on August 7.
The French government’s move follows a directive from President Emmanuel Macron, who earlier this month urged Prime Minister François Bayrou to adopt a firmer stance toward Algeria. In a letter, Macron called for “more firmness and determination” in response to Algeria’s repeated diplomatic obstructions and refusal to cooperate on migration and security matters.
Since Paris recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara territory in July 2024, Algiers took a series of hostile acts. It recalled its ambassador to Paris, declined to repatriate its nationals involved in law violation in France, took economic retaliatory measures, engaged in anti-French rhetoric in its media and sacked dozens of French diplomats.
Paris complains in particular of Algeria’s refusal to readmit its nationals subject to deportation orders under France’s “OQTF” regime, the detention of Franco-Algerian intellectuals, and the country’s growing hostility toward French interests.
Macron’s letter also instructed Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot to notify Algeria of the suspension and tasked Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau with coordinating with Schengen partners to prevent Algerian diplomats from circumventing the restrictions via third countries.
With the suspension now official, the Franco-Algerian relationship enters a new chapter, defined less by cooperation and more by confrontation. The visa exemption had symbolized a privileged channel of dialogue between elites. Its removal sends a clear message: France is no longer willing to accommodate Algeria’s unilateralism and diplomatic brinkmanship.
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