France and Algeria have had a complex relationship since the North African country gained independence after more than a century of brutal French occupation. Tensions reached a fever pitch last year when Paris recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, aligning with Spain, the United States and others.
Western Sahara is mostly controlled by Morocco, but Rabat’s sovereignty over the territory is not internationally recognized. Algiers unconditionally supports and hosts the headquarters of the pro-Sahrawi independence movement, the Polisario Front.
France also claims that two of its citizens, French-Algerian author Boualem Sansal and reporter Christophe Gleizes, are being held in Algerian prisons without cause.
Sansal was sentenced to five years in prison for undermining national unity after expressing support for Morocco in a territorial dispute with Algeria and claiming that only “small places with no history” end up being colonized in an interview with a far-right French online outlet.
Gleizes was sentenced to seven years for “advocating terrorism” after interviewing the heads of a football club who also held roles in separatist movements within Algeria.
Macron had sought to maintain diplomatic ties with Algeria and was eager to de-escalate.