After months of tension, the French foreign minister is in Algeria to "revive" the relationship

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived in Algeria on a visit aimed at assessing and repairing the tense relationship between the two countries for months, according to Algerian Ennahar TV.

The French Press Agency, quoting the French Foreign Ministry, stated that the visit - which was not announced until the last minute - is a working visit, an evaluation and to revive relations, noting that the French minister will meet his Algerian counterpart Ramtane Lamamra and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

French-Algerian relations are witnessing tension after statements by President Emmanuel Macron, which were reported by the French newspaper "Le Monde" last October, in which he saw that Algeria was built after its independence in 1962 on a "memory revenue" devoted by the "political-military regime".

He questioned the existence of an Algerian nation before French colonialism.

He said that Algeria's rulers rewrote the country's French colonial history with a reference stemming from "France's hatred."

After expressing its anger at Macron's statements, Algeria recalled its ambassador to France for consultations, and banned the passage of French military aircraft through its airspace.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune confirmed at the time that he would not take the "first step" to try to reduce tension with France.

After that, the French president announced his "regret" for this controversy and stressed his "great commitment to developing" bilateral relations.

And the French Foreign Minister had previously called in the middle of last month for a "confident" relationship and an "ambitious partnership" with Algeria that transcends the "wounds" of memory that can "sometimes reappear."

France and Algeria also faced after Paris announced in early October to reduce the number of entry visas granted to Algerians to put pressure on the Algerian government, as it considers that it is not cooperating sufficiently in terms of returning Algerians expelled by France, and Algeria condemned a decision taken without prior consultation.