Elisabeth Borne in Algiers to concretize the Franco-Algerian reconciliation

Europe 1 with AFP 10:48 a.m., October 07, 2022

Youth, economy, energy transition.

The menu promises to be consensual for Elisabeth Borne, who is going to Algeria on Sunday and Monday with no less than 16 ministers to concretize the reconciliation sealed by the presidents of the two countries at the end of August.

The French Prime Minister will be accompanied by a large delegation of 16 ministers and several business leaders for this trip during which she should meet Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, according to Matignon.

His visit will focus mainly on youth and economic cooperation, while more sensitive issues on immigration or the question of memory are still the subject of discussion.

The question of an increase in deliveries of Algerian gas to France, in the context of the scarcity of Russian gas in Europe, will not be "not on the agenda" of the visit, according to Matignon.

This visit aims to materialize the "Declaration of Algiers for a renewed partnership", signed by French Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on August 27 at the end of a three-day visit by the French Head of State to Algeria. 

The visa, a "valve"

"Emmanuel Macron has cleared the way and the time is right for this kind of cooperation. Today, we are at a turning point in the relationship, we need a certain sustainability," Hasni Abidi, director, told AFP. from the Center for Studies and Research on the Arab and Mediterranean World (Cermam) in Geneva.

"The French president's bet is to gain the confidence of Algerians by moving forward on issues that do not pose great difficulties for both parties to finally tackle difficult subjects, such as the migration issue", adds the researcher.

At the end of August, the presidents of the two countries paved the way for a relaxation of the visa regime granted to Algeria, for students, entrepreneurs, scientists, sportsmen and artists, in exchange for increased cooperation from Algiers in the fight against illegal immigration.

But "the discussions have not yet ended when we speak," said Matignon on Thursday.

The issue of visas has poisoned the bilateral relationship in recent months after a halving of their number by France for Algeria, deemed not quick enough to readmit its nationals expelled from France.

At the end of August, Paris had however noted an increase in the number of readmissions to Algeria and said it hoped for a "lifting" soon of the last "blockages".

"The exercise is difficult", admits to AFP the former ambassador to Algiers Xavier Driencourt, while "the visa has considerable political value in Algeria, it is a kind of valve to a society that is going badly" .

The other sensitive subject of the memory of colonization and the war in Algeria will not be at the heart of this visit either.

The commission of Algerian and French historians which is to be set up to examine "without taboos" the archives of the two countries, "is still in the process of being set up", according to Matignon.

Previous visit canceled due to strained relations with Algeria

This will not prevent the head of the French government from laying, on her arrival and as is the tradition, a wreath at the Monument des Martyrs, a high place of Algerian memory of the War of Independence (1954-1962) opposite to France, before going to the Saint-Eugène cemetery in Algiers, where many French people born in Algeria are buried.

Ms. Borne will then chair with her Algerian counterpart Aïmene Benabderrahmane the fifth High Level Intergovernmental Committee (CIHN), the last edition of which dates back to 2017.

A visit to Algiers had been planned for April 2021 with Ms. Borne's predecessor, Jean Castex and a few ministers, but it had been postponed at the last minute, in a context of strained relations with Algeria.

The two countries should sign agreements in the fields of training, energy transition, economic cooperation, youth and education, but also on more sovereign projects.

Ministers Bruno Le Maire (Economy), Gérald Darmanin (Interior) Catherine Colonna (Foreign Affairs) Eric Dupond-Moretti (Justice), Olivier Dussopt (Labour), and Pap Ndiaye (Education) will notably be on the trip.