France has promised a strong response after Algeria announced it would expel more French embassy staff, the latest escalation in a dispute pitting the North African nation against its former colonial ruler.
Algeria made the move after accusing France of repeatedly failing to comply with “established procedures” for assigning staff to its diplomatic and consular missions, Algeria’s state-run APS news agency reported Sunday. How many workers would be affected remains unclear.
Jean-Noel Barrot, France’s foreign affairs minister, tagged the move as “incomprehensible and brutal” and vowed authorities would “immediately, firmly, proportionately respond.”
“This is a decision that I regret — it’s neither in the interest of Algeria nor in the interest of France,” he made known to reporters in Pont-L’eveque, west of Paris, on Monday.
According to bloomberg.com:
French-Algerian relations have been strained since President Emmanuel Macron last summer endorsed Morocco’s plans for the disputed Western Sahara. That spurred Algiers, which backs a movement seeking independence for the territory, to recall its ambassador to Paris. The two have also been at odds on immigration issues.
