Watan-French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated on Monday that Algeria has asked 12 employees at the French Embassy to leave its territory within 48 hours, in response to Paris’s detention of three individuals, one of whom works at the Algerian consulate in France.
According to France 24, Barrot warned of an immediate counter-response “if the decision to expel our employees remains in place.”
Barrot, in a written statement to the press, said: “I request that the Algerian authorities reverse these expulsion measures, which are unrelated to the ongoing judicial procedures in France.”
He added: “If the decision to expel our employees is upheld, we will have no choice but to respond immediately.”
Algeria Protests French Detention of Consular Employee Over Kidnapping Allegations
On Saturday, Algeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned French Ambassador to Algeria, Stéphane Romani, to formally protest the French judicial decision to place one of its consulate employees in the Paris suburb of Créteil under provisional detention.
The ministry, in a statement, clarified that the action was part of a French judicial investigation initiated due to allegations related to the kidnapping of a person named “Amir Boukhors,” also known as “Amir Di Zadd,” in 2024.
Algeria considered the detention of its consular employee as a “blatant violation” of international agreements governing diplomatic relations, noting that the detention took place without prior notice through the proper channels and in violation of the diplomatic immunity enjoyed by the employee during their official duties.
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