A return to normal after several months of cold. The French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, announced on Sunday a return “to a normal consular relationship” with Algeria since “Monday” last, that is to say concerning the granting of visas by France to nationals of that country.
Traveling to Algeria, Gérald Darmanin tweeted his statement after his interview with his Algerian counterpart.
Normalizations in the rest of the Maghreb
This normalization of the granting of visas to Algerian nationals comes after that with Tunisia at the end of August and that with Morocco announced Friday by the head of French diplomacy Catherine Colonna. Coming to prepare the state visit of French President Emmanuel Macron scheduled “in the first quarter of 2023”, the minister then underlined that France wished “to be in an exemplary partnership relationship with Morocco, an exceptional partnership, fraternal and modern “.
She then invited them to “write a new page together, in a context where France and Morocco need each other more than ever to ensure their security, support their economic development (…) and respond to the expectations of their youth and their societies”.
Last fall, France decided to restrict the issuance of visas in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, in order to encourage these countries to make efforts in terms of cooperation and the fight against illegal immigration. The refusal rate had reached 30% for Tunisia, and 50% for Morocco and Algeria.