Algeria has asked 12 French Embassy officials to leave the country within 48 hours, French Foreign Minister said.
Jean-Noel Barot added that he was linked to the accusation of three Algeria in France on Friday, one of whom is a consular officer.
They were accused of participating in the abduction last year of the 41 -year -old Amir Buhors, a critic of the Algeria government with a large social media audience, which reported to have been granted asylum in France in 2023.
Baro called on Algeria to “abandon” the expulsions and said that France was ready to “answer” immediately if they move on.
Boukhors, also known as Amir DZ, has lived in France since 2016 and reported to have been provided with political asylum in 2023.
He was abducted in April 2024 in the southern suburbs of Paris and released the next day, according to his lawyer Eric Swavier.
Plouvier told AFP that Boukhors was “subject to two serious attacks, one in 2022 and another on April 29, 2024”
The French media reported that he was forced in a car with a flashing light by “fake police”, after which he was released the next day without explanation.
Algeria has issued nine international arrest warrants against him, accusing him of fraud and ties with terrorist organizations. “
He denies the allegations. In 2022, the French courts refused his extradition.
The case is the most new in the increasing number of incidents that have exacerbated a gap between France and Algeria.
They include arrest and imprisonment in Algeria by French-algirian author Boualem sensorywho was accused of undermining Algeria's territorial integrity.
Algeria recalled his ambassador from Paris last year after France supported Morocco's claim to the disputed territory of the West Sahara.
The 12 French employees who wanted to leave on Monday include some members of the French Interior Ministry, a diplomatic source told AFP.
On Monday, Barot said, “I ask Algeria's authorities to abandon these expulsion measures … If the decision to send our employees is maintained, we will have no choice but to answer immediately.”
Barot claims that expulsions are a response to the charge of three Algerian citizens on Friday in Paris – including the consular officer – on charges, including abduction, arbitrary detention and illegal detention and participation in a terrorist organization.
The Algeria Foreign Ministry said it had called the French Ambassador Stefan Romant in response to “expressing his strong protest” and called on the employee's immediate release, according to the official Algeria agency.
He added that the person “was arrested in public and was then removed without notice through diplomatic channels.”
The ministry claims that this move is “not a coincidence, as it happens in a very specific context in order to stimulate the process of resumption of bilateral relations.”
Terming steps have been taken to correct relations between the two nations with a telephone call between French President Emmanuel Macron and President Abdelmajid Wibun, which takes place in March.
“The two presidents had a long, outspoken and friendly exchange of the state of bilateral relations and tensions accumulated in recent months,” a joint statement said.
After an official visit to Algeria on April 6, where he met with Wibun, Baro said he hoped for the New Phase in relationships.