We will win Algeria’s trust but we will lose that of Morocco,” thus spoke former French President Nicolas Sarkozy deploring the pro-Algeria bias of the current French head of state Emmanuel Macron. The interview, in which Sarkozy spoke of an impossible rapprochement with Algiers, was published on the occasion of the release of Sarkozy’s book Le Temps des Tempêtes (the era of storms). Algerian leaders are desperate to distract attention from the failure in which they enmeshed their country by “systematically accusing France,” he said. President Tebboune hosted Macron earlier this year and the French Prime Minister led a large cabinet and private sector delegation signing mostly MoUs with no concrete deals. An announced visit to France by Tebboune was pushed back on multiple occasions as Macron’s administration struggles to realize the unrequited relationship it is building with Algeria.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 17, 2023 13:12 UTC