ISTANBUL

Algeria said Wednesday it summoned France’s chargé d’affaires to protest a statement issued by the French Embassy regarding visa procedures.

The move followed a Tuesday announcement by the French Embassy that its diplomatic and consular staff in Algeria would be cut by one-third as of September due to Algerian refusal to grant visas to new personnel.

In a statement, the Algerian Foreign Ministry accused Paris of pursuing a “policy of blackmail” over visa issuance and expressed its “categorical rejection” of the embassy’s remarks.

The ministry warned the French envoy that his embassy statement breached diplomatic protocol by addressing the Algerian public directly and misrepresenting facts in an attempt to place sole blame on Algeria for not approving French staff.

In its statement, the French Embassy said that deteriorating bilateral relations had led to a sharp drop in staff at its diplomatic missions in Algiers, Oran, and Annaba, and limited its ability to process Algerians’ visa applications.

But Algeria countered that its decision not to approve French diplomats followed “a similar measure” by Paris and came after all efforts to resolve the issue were exhausted.

The ministry warned that the situation violates the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, emphasizing that it was enforcing strict reciprocity after France refused for over two years to accredit Algerian diplomatic staff.

According to the ministry, 46 Algerian diplomatic and consular staff remain unable to assume their posts in France due to the French inaction, hurting services and consular protection for Algerians living there.

Algeria and France downgraded their diplomatic representation to the chargé d’affaires level after relations soured in July 2024, when Paris backed Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara.

In 2007, Morocco proposed self-rule under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front, supported by Algeria, called for an independence referendum.