Diplomatic Tensions Escalate As Algeria Expels French Officials

Algeria’s decision to expel 12 French consular staff members appears to have put paid to hopes of any imminent rapprochement between the two countries.

The order was in response to charges filed in France on Friday against an Algerian consular official, accused with two other Algerians of taking part in the kidnap of an opposition dissident in the Paris suburbs a year ago.

Algiers chose to see the arrest of the official as “a flagrant contravention of the immunities and privileges that attach to his (diplomatic) functions”.

According to the official Algerian state-run news agency APS: “This unprecedented judicial incident… has not come about by chance. Its purpose is to scupper the relaunch of bilateral relations agreed by the two heads of state.”