Regarding the imprisonment of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, a friend of Sansal, believes that France must change its strategy to obtain his release, reports France Info.
The minister of the interior, a friend of the Franco-Algerian author, presents himself as a “bête noire” in Algeria and advocates a balance of power with the Algerian authorities.
Retailleau lamented this past weekend “that France had done so little to obtain Sansal’s release from Algeria, as he has been in prison there since mid-November.”
Appearing on Europe 1’s “Le grand rendez-vous” with CNews and Les Echos, the minister argues for a “balance of power” with Algeria: “I can’t take it anymore because it’s not moving forward. (…) We can’t call ourselves the country representing human rights and let it happen. It’s unbearable,” he said.
Boualem Sansal is being prosecuted under an article of the Algerian Penal Code which punishes “as a terrorist or subversive act any act targeting the security of the State, the integrity of the territory, the stability and normal functioning of institutions.”
Retailleau questioned the current strategy of working discreetly in the name of the adage “the more discreet you are, the more results you get.” For three months, “discretion has not paid off,” he noted.
“I deplore that France has had so little reaction (…). I am the bête noire [in Algeria], there is a price on my head on the front page of newspapers [pro-Algerian government]. Who defended me? Jean-Pierre Chevènement,” he noted. Bruno Retailleau, who is a friend of the “elderly ” and “sick” writer, argued that it was necessary to “defend Boualem as a humanitarian cause.”
“We must fundamentally transform our relationship with Algeria (…), we must establish a balance of power,” he said, once again demanding the reconsideration of the 1968 agreement on the conditions for welcoming Algerian nationals in France and the reestablishment of visas for Algerian diplomats.
Proposing to “exit” the France/Algeria face-off, Bruno Retailleau “hoped” that the European heads of state would not sign an agreement with Algeria, currently under discussion, “until Boualem Sansal is released.” He has also threatened to cut the number of short-term Schengen visas issued to Algerian nationals.
Algeria called for a revision of its association agreement with the European Union (EU) at the end of January 2025 so that it is based on a “win-win principle.”
Last June, Brussels announced that it had opened a dispute settlement procedure against Algeria, accused of restricting EU exports and investments in the North African country since 2021.
In January, the European Parliament also passed a resolution demanding that Algeria release imprisoned critics of the current government, including the writer Boualem Sansal, a move slammed by the Pan-African Parliament as interference in the internal affairs of an African state.
Bruno Retailleau has recently announced his candidacy for the presidency of his conservative party, Les Républicains.
