Algeria Slams France for Visa Exemption Cancellation: “Blatant Diplomatic Breach”

Watan-The Algerian Foreign Ministry has expressed deep surprise over the French government’s use of the media to announce its decision to revoke visa exemptions for holders of diplomatic and service passports, calling the move a blatant breach of diplomatic norms and a violation of a bilateral agreement between the two countries.

In a formal statement, Algeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is following with great concern the recent developments in France’s handling and rhetoric regarding visa issues—particularly the removal of the visa exemption for diplomatic and service passport holders.

The Algerian government noted that the French discourse has taken a suspicious and unusual turn, citing “scandalous leaks” to carefully selected French media outlets by the Ministry of the Interior and the National Police Directorate.

The statement emphasized that such decisions are now being made through unofficial channels, violating diplomatic protocols and breaching the 2013 Algerian-French agreement which had established visa exemptions for diplomatic and service passport holders. Algeria, the ministry said, has yet to receive any official notification from France via the established diplomatic channel.

The French chargé d’affaires in Algiers, who has been summoned four times over the issue, reportedly told Algerian officials that he had received no instructions from France’s Foreign Ministry and could not provide responses to Algeria’s repeated formal requests for clarification.

The Algerian government stated that France bears full responsibility for violating the 2013 agreement, reminding that it had issued an official statement at the time holding Paris entirely accountable.

Algeria also categorically rejected French claims that it was the party that first violated the agreement, calling those allegations unfounded and inaccurate.

The statement clarified that Algeria was never the party to request or initiate the visa exemption for diplomatic passport holders. It was, in fact, France that proposed the exemption back in 1986—an offer Algeria repeatedly refused until finally agreeing to a limited exemption in 2007, followed by an expanded agreement in 2013, both initiated by the French side.

The Algerian Foreign Ministry concluded that France appears to be moving toward unilaterally suspending the 2013 agreement while trying to evade the associated responsibilities and consequences, in clear violation of the accord’s terms.

Algeria made it clear that it sees no specific national interest in maintaining the agreement and has noted France’s “de facto suspension” of the accord without following legal procedures. It announced it would respond with a strict application of the principle of reciprocity, proportionate to the French side’s breach of its obligations.

French right-wing newspaper Le Figaro reported that the French National Police issued a directive to all border officers to deny entry and forcibly return all Algerian diplomatic and service passport holders who do not have entry visas.

According to the report, French authorities ordered strict and immediate enforcement of the decision, which took effect on May 17. It is being presented by Paris as part of a “gradual response” to what it described as “unjustified” Algerian decisions—referring to Algeria’s recent expulsions of French consular staff.