ISTANBUL

The French National Assembly on Thursday narrowly approved a resolution denouncing the 1968 migration agreement between France and Algeria, a move that has reignited political and diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

The non-binding motion, proposed by the far-right National Rally (RN), passed by 185 votes to 184 during the party’s allotted parliamentary time, marking the first legislative victory for Marine Le Pen’s party, the French news broadcaster BFMTV reported.

Adopted nearly six decades after the original accord, the resolution calls for ending what RN lawmakers described as a “special immigration regime” granting Algerian nationals preferential rights for residence, employment, and social benefits in France.

RN deputy Guillaume Bigot, who introduced the text, denounced the deal as “an extremely exceptional regime.”

“Imagine a contract where you owe everything and your partner owes you nothing, yet you continue to respect it,” Bigot said during the debate.

The resolution gained unexpected support from MPs belonging to the center-right Les Republicains (LR) and Horizons, the party of former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, both of whom back ending the treaty.

While President Emmanuel Macron and his centrist government have resisted calls to terminate the 1968 accord, former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal had earlier expressed support for its revision, citing “incessant provocations” from Algiers.

The vote comes amid heightened Franco-Algerian tensions, following France’s recent expulsion of several Algerian diplomats and disputes over visa policies.

The 1968 agreement, originally designed to facilitate post-independence labor migration, has long been criticized by conservatives who see it as outdated.

Left-wing parties, meanwhile, condemned the RN initiative, accusing Macron’s alliance of enabling the far right by failing to mobilize their members; only 33 of the 92 Renaissance MPs were present for the vote.

“Where were the Macron supporters? Gabriel Attal was absent!” Socialist leader Olivier Faure wrote on US social media company X.

Left MPs also warned that the RN resolution offers no alternative legal framework, risking a legal vacuum that could complicate bilateral migration management.