French Foreign Minister said Algeria has asked 12 French embassy staff to leave the country within 48 hours.
Jean-Noël Barrot added that it was related to the prosecution of three Algerians in France on Friday, one of whom was a consular official.
They were accused of being involved in the kidnapping of 41-year-old Amir Boukhors, an outspoken critic of the Algerian government who has an audience of more than a million people online. He was reportedly granted asylum in France in 2023.
Balotel urged Algeria to “give up” its deportation and said France is ready to “respond” immediately if they continue to move forward.
Boukhors, also known as Amir DZ, has lived in France since 2016.
According to his attorney, Eric Plouvier, he was kidnapped in the southern suburbs of Paris in April 2024 and was released the next day.
Plouvier told AFP that Boukhors was the subject of “two serious attacks, one in 2022 and the other on the evening of April 29, 2024”.
French media reported that he was forced by a “fake policeman” to flash the car and then released in woodland the next day without explanation.
Algerian authorities accuse influencers of being “spoilers associated with terrorist organizations.” North African countries have issued nine international arrest warrants against him, accusing him of fraud and association with terrorist organizations.
He denied the charges. In 2022, a French court refused to extradite him to Algeria.
The case is the latest in an increasing number of events that have exacerbated the rift between France and Algeria.
These include arrest and imprisonment of France in Algeria – Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who is accused of undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity.
Algeria recalls the ambassador of Paris after France supports Morocco’s claim to the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
A diplomatic source told AFP that the 12 French officials asked to leave some members of the French Interior Ministry.
“I asked the Algerian authorities to abandon these deportations … If we ensure the decision to send back our officials, we have no choice but to respond immediately,” Barot said on Monday.
Balotte claimed that the deportation was a response to the prosecution of three Algerian nationals in Paris on Friday – including consular officials – including kidnapping, arbitrary detention and illegal detention and participation in terrorist organizations.
According to Algeria’s official news agency, the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had called French ambassador Stéphane Romatet to respond to “expressing strong protests” and called on the official to release immediately.
It added that the person was “arrested in public and then detained through diplomatic channels without notice”.
The ministry claims the move is “not a coincidence, because it happens in a very specific context, with the intention of preventing the process of restarting bilateral relations”.
Temporary steps have been taken to repair relations between the two countries and a phone call was held in March through French President Emmanuel Macron and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
“The two presidents have had a long, candid and friendly exchange on the state of bilateral relations and the tensions that have intensified in recent months,” a joint statement said.
After an official visit to Algeria on April 6, Balotte said he hopes to establish a “new phase” relationship.
