De Villepin deplores Retailleau's "one-upmanship" on Algeria, the minister doesn't give a damn "about it"
On Sunday, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs denounced the "amateurism" of Bruno Retailleau's remarks on Algeria. The latter persists and signs.
By Le Parisien with AFP"Who in France can claim that harshness is not on the side of the Algerian regime?" Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau asked on Monday, pointing to the case of writer Boualem Sansal imprisoned in Algeria . "I do not accept that France is humiliated," the minister added on the sidelines of the Agricultural Show.
The tenant of Place Beauvau said on Saturday that he was ready to enter into a "power struggle with Algeria". The reason was Algiers' refusal to take back one of its nationals under an obligation to leave French territory, before he killed a man and injured seven others in a knife attack on Saturday in Mulhouse .
Asked about the criticisms of former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin , who had deplored an "overbidding" and "amateurism" in his comments on Algeria, Bruno Retailleau replied that he "didn't give a damn". "There is a man ( Boualem Sansal ) whose life is in danger and a country that ignores international law. Mr. de Villepin should know international law," Retailleau replied.
"I say things as I think them and if it bothers some people, that's the same," he added, believing that France "did not deserve" the treatment it was given by Algiers. "Especially since the President of the Republic extended his hand. Have we been repaid? No!" he lamented.
The often rocky relations between France and Algeria have deteriorated since the summer of 2024 following the announcement of France's support for Morocco's autonomy plan for the disputed territory of Western Sahara . Several issues have continued to darken bilateral relations, including the incarceration since mid-November of Boualem Sansal and the arrest in France of several Algerian influencers for advocating violence.
Le Parisien
