Barely elected, relations between the new Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune and France, whom he accused during the campaign of interfering in Algerian affairs, look tense.

The head of the French diplomacy Jean-Yves Le Drian assured however, Sunday December 17, that France had only one "wish": that the "continuation of the democratic transition" can be done "in the respect of Algerian sovereignty ".

Since February, Algeria has been the scene of a popular protest against the government, which obtained the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April and rejects the election of his successor by denouncing a "rigged vote".

Using the terms used by President Emmanuel Macron, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said on France Inter that France had "noted and noted the victory of Mr. Tebboune".

Linked by a close and tumultuous relationship with its former colony, France remained very cautious, even distant, about the events in Algeria. After announcing the result of the presidential election on December 12, Emmanuel Macron had called on the authorities to initiate a "dialogue" with the Algerian people, without congratulating the winner.

"Regarding the French president, I will not answer him"

"I have taken note of the official announcement that Mr. Tebboune has won the Algerian presidential election in the first round," the French president said during a press conference after a European Council in Brussels, taking care not to congratulate the winner. "I simply wish that these aspirations expressed by the Algerian people find a response in the dialogue which must open between the authorities and the population", underlined the French president.

Bye Bye diplomacy.
Watch how Tebboune responds to Macron's message. pic.twitter.com/ZoaK3vaLc5

- Kamal Cherif (@kdjdz) December 13, 2019

"It is up to the Algerians to find ways and means within the framework of a true democratic dialogue and I tell them, with respect and friendship, that at this crucial moment in their history, France stands by their side", added Emmanuel Macron.

A minimal reaction and a message that does not seem to have been to the taste of Abdelaziz Bouteflika's successor. "Regarding the French president, I will not answer him. He is free to sell the goods he wants in his country, but I was elected by the Algerian people and I only recognize the Algerian people", a- he replied curtly, with loud applause, during a press conference organized on December 13 in Algiers.

During the campaign, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who was several times Minister and then Prime Minister during the Bouteflika era, had already accused France of interfering in Algerian political life.

With AFP

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