President Abdelmadjid Tebboune granted Algerian nationality on Monday February 27 to the Archbishop of Algiers, the Frenchman Jean-Paul Vesco, appointed to this post in December 2021.
By presidential decree,acquired Algerian nationality (…) Vesco Jean Paul born March 10, 1962 in Lyon (France)“, announces a press release from the Algerian presidency.
Tensions between France and Algeria
Bishop Vesco was ordained a priest for the Dominican Order in June 2001. In September 2002, he was appointed to the Diocese of Oran (western Algeria) before becoming Vicar General of Oran in 2005 until 2010, when he leaves Algeria to return to France. In December 2012, he returned to Algeria again as Bishop of Oran before being appointed Archbishop of Algiers in December 2021 by Pope Francis. The announcement of the granting of Algerian nationality to Bishop Vesco comes in a context of tension between France and Algeria.
Algiers recalled its ambassador to Paris in early February for consultations after accusing French diplomatic and security personnel of having “illegally exfiltrated» a Franco-Algerian activist from Tunisia to France. After a severe cold snap in the fall of 2021, Paris and Algiers had nevertheless sealed a warming of their relations during a trip by French President Emmanuel Macron to Algiers last August.