The Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Attaf, stated this Sunday, November 2, that the adoption in the French National Assembly of a resolution aimed at denouncing the Franco-Algerian agreement of 1968 was, for the moment, a “Franco-French” matter.
“It is sad to see a country as big as France make the history of another country, independent, sovereign, the subject of an early electoral competition in France,” said Ahmed Attaf in an interview with the Algerian news channel AL24.
“Very sincerely, I have a lot of respect for the French National Assembly, but when I saw this vote (…), the first thought that came to my mind (is) ‘the race for the shallot continues,'” he declared.
On Thursday, French deputies adopted a resolution proposal from the National Rally (RN, far-right) aimed at “denouncing” the Franco-Algerian agreement of 1968, in a symbolic gesture. This non-binding text was adopted by a majority of one vote by the lower house of the French Parliament, thanks to the support of deputies from the right-wing parties LR and Horizons.
An “internal matter”
“Deep down, this matter is a matter between the French National Assembly and the French Government. It is an internal matter, it is a Franco-French matter. It does not concern us at this moment,” stressed the head of Algerian diplomacy.
Ahmed Attaf, however, clarified that “we might be worried if it becomes a government-to-government issue because agreement 68 is an intergovernmental agreement. It is an international agreement and the French government has not told us anything about this issue and therefore we basically do not react.” “We didn’t see anything coming and we hope we don’t see anything coming,” concluded the Algerian minister.
This agreement, signed six years after the end of the Algerian War (1954-1962), creates a favorable immigration regime for Algerians, who do not need a specific visa to stay more than three months in France and have access to ten-year residence permits more quickly than other foreigners, even in the context of family reunification.
Paris and Algiers have been entangled in a diplomatic crisis for more than a year, following France’s recognition in the summer of 2024 of an autonomy plan “under Moroccan sovereignty” for Western Sahara.
Source: BFM TV
