France and Algeria resumed high-level diplomatic dialogue on Sunday following months of strained relations that have disrupted trade, suspended security cooperation, and reignited political tensions tied to colonial-era grievances.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot arrived in Algiers for talks, days after Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Abdelmadjid Tebboune agreed by phone to pursue a roadmap aimed at easing tensions. Relations have been in free fall since Macron backed Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara last July, a move Algeria viewed as a betrayal.
The fallout has been sharp: trade between the two countries has dropped by 30% since summer, according to French officials, and French businesses report growing administrative hurdles and restricted access to financing.
The wheat trade—once a cornerstone of French exports to Algeria—has seen a near-collapse. Since October, Algeria’s grains agency OAIC has effectively excluded French wheat from import tenders, traders say, despite official denials. France has shipped only one cargo of wheat this season, compared to millions of tons in previous years.
“We’re all watching to see if Barrot’s visit changes anything,” one French grain trader said. “We could definitely use another buyer.”
Barrot, speaking ahead of the trip, said it was in France’s national interest to restore cooperation with Algeria across migration, justice, security, and economic sectors. An estimated 10% of France’s population has Algerian heritage, making the relationship a sensitive domestic issue as well.
Security Ties Frozen, Author Imprisoned
The diplomatic freeze has also halted joint security efforts, including counterterrorism coordination. A major flashpoint was the November arrest and recent five-year sentencing of 80-year-old Franco-Algerian author Boualem Sansal in Algiers. French diplomats hope for a presidential pardon.
Meanwhile, France’s interior ministry is pressing to renegotiate a 1968 agreement that facilitates Algerian migration to France, after Algiers refused to accept deported nationals subject to France’s OQTF (order to leave French territory) policy.
Historical Shadows Linger
Tensions remain shaped by the legacy of the 1954–1962 Algerian War of Independence, which ended French colonial rule at a massive human cost. Around 400,000 Algerians, 35,000 French nationals, and as many as 30,000 Muslim Algerians who fought alongside France—known as harkis—were killed during the conflict.
President Macron has previously called for greater openness about France’s colonial past, while also accusing Algeria’s leadership of exploiting anti-French sentiment for domestic purposes.
“The Western Sahara decision was the turning point,” said Jalel Harchaoui, a North Africa analyst with the Royal United Services Institute. “Algeria sees it as a betrayal—and French companies are paying the price.”