Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune will make a state visit to France “at the end of September-beginning of October”, the Élysée announced on Monday following a telephone interview between Abdelmadjid Tebboune and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. This visit, postponed several times against a backdrop of recurring hot and cold weather between the two countries, will take place “on a date to be specified” during this period, indicates the French presidency. First scheduled for early May 2023, it was postponed to June of the same year, with Algerians fearing that it would be spoiled by the May 1 demonstrations against the highly contested pension reform in France, according to consistent sources.
A visit to Russia, seen as a disavowal of Paris
But Abdelmadjid Tebboune never confirmed his arrival, which was to mark the improvement between the two countries after a number of diplomatic crises. On the other hand, he went on a state visit to Russia at the same time, which was perceived as a disavowal of Paris. In December, Algiers again assured that the conditions for a visit were “not suitable”, then mentioning five issues to be resolved beforehand, including those of memory, mobility, economic cooperation and French nuclear tests in the Sahara Algerian.
“The two presidents discussed the deepening of the renewed partnership between France and Algeria following the Algiers declaration” concluded during Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Algiers in August 2022, specified the Élysée. This renewed partnership must intervene “on the economic, energy, agricultural, educational and cultural levels as well as in terms of mobility and human exchanges”, recalls the French presidency.
“Regarding questions of memory, they welcomed the recent progress of the Joint Franco-Algerian Commission of historians chaired by professors Mohamed Lahcen Zeghidi and Benjamin Stora, which will meet again in April, she adds. “They also discussed regional issues and cooperation at the United Nations Security Council, particularly with regard to the conflict in the Middle East,” she continued.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin went to Algiers in November, where he was received by the Algerian president, to discuss in particular “the fight against organized crime”, “migration” as well as the “consequences of the crisis” in the Middle East.