00:00It could be a first sign of thawing, frosty diplomatic relations between France and Algeria.
00:05This Monday, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez is visiting Algiers
00:09after an invitation from his Algerian counterpart, Saïd Saoud.
00:15I'm going there in a constructive frame of mind,
00:18determined to succeed and to re-establish security ties with Algeria, and beyond that, of course.
00:25Nunez had previously said that all security issues would be discussed,
00:30including counter-terrorism, the fight against drug trafficking, and illegal immigration.
00:35But he's not expected to take a hard-line stance like his predecessor, Bruno Routaio.
00:41Under his tenure, which lasted from September 2024 to November 2025,
00:46former colonial power France moved to tighten conditions for Algerian diplomats and officials entering France.
00:53Routaio also threatened retaliation against Algeria
00:57if the country didn't accept Algerian nationals under orders to leave French territory.
01:02It remains one of the most contentious issues between Paris and Algiers.
01:07Diplomatic ties between the two nations have deteriorated since the summer of 2024,
01:12when France recognised Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara.
01:17The territory is the subject of a 50-year conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front,
01:23which is supported by Algeria.
01:25Things worsened in November of the same year with the arrest of Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal,
01:31who was warned against authoritarianism and political Islam in Algeria.
01:36He was, however, pardoned in 2025 by President Abdel-Majid Tebboune and returned to France.
01:43On the other hand, prominent French sports journalist Christophe Glez remains in an Algerian jail
01:49after he was arrested in May 2024.
01:52Last year, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for what Algerian authorities call glorifying terrorism.
02:00Reporters Without Borders says the allegations are unfounded.
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