The ongoing cultural conflict between France and Algeria

Relations between France and Algeria are so tense that it took the intervention of a third country to resolve the crisis triggered by the arrest of Franco Algerian writer Boualem Sansal a year ago.

Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who has been treated twice in Germany in recent years, welcomed the personal intervention of German president Frank Walter Steinmeier and granted the long awaited pardon to Sansal on health grounds. On the evening of November 12, the writer left Algeria for Germany. Appearances are preserved: it is not a “gift” to France.

After Sansal was sentenced to five years in prison in July, rumors of a possible presidential pardon had circulated several times in recent months, followed by repeated disappointments. Countries such as Italy and Germany had attempted mediation without success. This time it worked.

But why now? The reason is that the political climate has changed, allowing more conciliatory messages to emerge. In the past there were two “lines” in Paris, but after last month’s reshuffle and the fall of the government that included interior minister Bruno Retailleau, leader of the Republicans on the right, only one remains. Retailleau had strongly advocated a “power based” approach with Algeria, while the presidency and the foreign ministry favored a patient and discreet diplomatic solution, even at the risk of appearing weaker.

Retailleau’s successor, Laurent Nunez, has publicly changed tone. On November 12 the government stressed that a country cannot be changed through dramatic statements, effectively disavowing supporters of the hard line, which at one point had also apparently been backed by Emmanuel Macron.

Recently Paris has multiplied gestures of goodwill, such as the participation of the French ambassador to Algiers, Stéphane Romatet, in a ceremony held in the French capital on October 17 to commemorate the bloody repression of Algerian demonstrators in 1961. Romatet has been away from Algiers for more than six months, so his presence at the ceremony carries strong symbolic meaning.

It should also be noted that relations between intelligence services have never been interrupted. On November 11, speaking on France Inter, Nicolas Lerner, head of the French external intelligence service, revealed that “signals” had come from Algiers indicating a willingness to resume dialogue.

So can a new chapter begin? Not yet. First of all because another French citizen remains imprisoned in Algeria, the journalist Christophe Gleizes, described as a “state hostage” like Sansal. Gleizes has been sentenced to seven years in prison on the absurd charge of espionage. His appeal ruling is expected in early December and there is hope that the improved climate will favor his release.

The release of Gleizes would pave the way for more productive political dialogue, likely including a visit by interior minister Nunez to Algiers and direct contact between presidents Tebboune and Macron. It is a long process in which both countries may find positive developments, although it will take time to resolve outstanding disputes.

For now, there is relief in seeing Boualem Sansal, 81 and ill, regain a freedom he should never have lost. Imprisoning a writer is never a sign of authority. On the contrary, it is a symbol of weakness.

Source: France Inter

edited: Gemma D. F.