Romain Rouillard
modified to
09:01, August 27, 2022
The former French ambassador to Algeria, Xavier Driencourt, was the guest of Yohann Tritz on Europe 1. He notably returned to the remarks of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, very critical of Emmanuel Macron’s official visit. in Algeria. He believes that it is still too early to take stock of this trip.
Is Emmanuel Macron’s trip to Algeria a success or a false note? For Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who spoke on this subject during the summer days of rebellious France in the Drôme, the President of the Republic puts “fuel on the fire” and does not “understand anything” to the relations between the Algerians and the French.
A negative balance, therefore, for the former deputy but according to Xavier Driencourt, former ambassador of France in Algeria, it is still too early to judge. According to him, we must first “wait for what will be signed this morning or this afternoon in Algiers”, he said at the microphone of Europe 1. Emmanuel Macron and his counterpart, Abdelmajid Tebboune, must indeed conclude a “renewed partnership” pact this Saturday.
“Nothing has been implemented so far”
Xavier Driencourt believes that the implementation of this pact will determine the success or failure of this official visit. The former ambassador also recalls that all the topics discussed between the two heads of state during these three days were already the subject of discussions between the two countries during the last five years. “Immigration, visas, memory, the Franco-Algerian investment fund, digital, etc., these were already themes that had been included in the declaration signed by François Hollande in 2012”.
The diplomat also highlighted the topics discussed between Emmanuel Macron and ex-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, during his first official visit in 2017. But according to him, all these previous talks were unsuccessful. What about this move? “We will have to see how things are implemented,” he said. Xavier Driencourt nevertheless believes that diplomatic relations between France and Algeria seem to be on the way to appeasement. “In a way, the mere fact that there is this trip to Algiers shows that the estrangement, in the minds of the two leaders, is over”.