Algeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded on Monday with a statement accusing France of acting in violation of the current diplomatic agreements between the two countries. The ministry said it would thus effectively ignore the request from Paris.
While Franco-Algerian relations have been strained for months, the current diplomatic spat is seen as a test of the government’s ability to act on immigration. Only about 10 percent of expulsion orders issued by French authorities result in actual departures, as they are often held up due to diplomatic tensions with various host countries.
A hard-line conservative, Retailleau has made the expulsion issue central both as interior minister and in his bid to lead Les Républicains, which is a junior partner in the current center-right coalition. Retailleau has warned his participation in the coalition depends on his ability to act. “If I were asked to abandon this major issue for the security of the French people, I would of course refuse,” he told Le Parisien over the weekend, raising questions about a possible resignation.
French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this month warned his ministers to tone down the rhetoric in what seemed to be a rebuke of both Retailleau and Bayrou.
Retailleau’s allies insist that the plan for a “gradual response” is supported by Macron and Bayrou.
“On this subject, he is in agreement with the president and the prime minister,” an elected official close to Retailleau, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, told POLITICO.
