Algeria Sends Messages to Paris Through Merad's Visit to Spain
While Algerian-French relations are becoming more complicated than ever, Algerian-Spanish relations are gradually recovering.
This is embodied by Brahim Merad, the Minister of the Interior and Local Authorities, 's visit to the Kingdom of Spain. This was the first visit of an Algerian official to Madrid since the outbreak of the crisis between the two countries in the spring of 2022.
In a message that politicians in France will undoubtedly pick up, Interior Minister Brahim Merad flew to Madrid to embody the beginning of strengthening the normalization of bilateral relations, which will certainly be at the expense of relations with France, which has entered a dark tunnel.
The message of this visit cannot be read without linking it to the visit that led the French Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, to the Kingdom of Morocco and from there to the occupied Sahrawi territories, last week, which was followed by another visit by a French official to Rabat, namely the President of the Senate, Gerard Larcher.
The state of polarization appears sharp in the equation of relations between the two shores of the Mediterranean, as France, which until recently viewed Algeria as a vital area of its influence, is today losing what remains of its interests in its former colony, in favour of its Italian neighbours and now the Spanish, while Paris is trying to annoy Algeria by sending its officials to the Alaouite Kingdom, which remained the area of influence or rather the only protectorate of France in Africa, after the great awakening of its former colonies seeking emancipation from French neo-colonialism.
Through the agenda of Brahim Merad's visit to Spain, during which he was accompanied by the Director General of National Security, Ali Badaoui, the two capitals are moving towards establishing cooperation in the field of immigration and the files that usually accompany it, such as security-related issues, which was indicated by the Spanish side, as it was decided to hold the next meeting of the Joint Committee of the Security Agreement and the Fight against Terrorism and Organized Crime, which began operating in 2009, according to a statement issued by the Spanish Interior Ministry.
In contrast, there is no cooperation between Algeria and France in this regard, despite repeated French demands, a process that has completely stopped since last summer, following the decision of French President Emmanuel Macron to support the autonomy plan, which was pushed by the Moroccan regime in Western Sahara in 2007.
Identical French reports indicate that security cooperation between the two capitals has been completely suspended for more than half a year. Algeria, according to French reports, also refuses to cooperate in the field of immigration and prevents the issuance of consular permits for the deportation of migrants against whom expulsion decisions have been issued from French territory, which has caused the French side to lose its mind and take arrogant decisions that are not based on legal or diplomatic justification.
One of the repercussions of Algeria's anger towards France was its loss of a treasure trove of security information it had obtained from the Algerian side within the framework of cooperation that existed before the crisis in bilateral relations.
France was also unable to deport any Algerian from French territory, as the French Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, admitted that since January 9, Algeria had refused to receive ten deportees who had set foot in Algerian airports before returning from where they came, because Algeria refused to receive them due to the French side's failure to respect the procedures in force in deportation operations.
This crisis, as is well known, has caused a sharp division within the political class in France regarding how they deal with what they consider to be the worsening 'Algerian dilemma'. This is embodied in the fierce attack launched by Dominique de Villepin, former Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs under Jacques Chirac, against the Interior Minister in his country's government, Bruno Retailleau.
In an interview on BFMTV, De Villepin asked: 'Is the Interior Minister playing his role when he denounces Algerian hostility towards France?' This is something that this politician, who is considered the last remnant of the Gaullist elite among French politicians, rejects. He believes that combining domestic and foreign policy will only lead to a dead end by practising the scorched earth policy'.
It is clear from De Villepin's words that there is a flaw in François Bayrou's government, as long as one minister controls two portfolios that are as far apart as possible, namely the Interior and Foreign Ministries, and the reference is clear to Retailleau.
Macron also warned against continuing to allow the Interior Minister to poison relations with Algeria, who said: 'We need to change our position with Algeria and accept the balance of power (…) We have been kind enough, we have reached out to Algeria, so what have we gotten in return?'
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