In response to the expulsion of French officials from Algeria, Paris will also expel Algerian diplomats.

Axar.az reports that French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced in a statement that his country would take this step.

The minister said that France strongly condemns this unjustified and unacceptable decision by Algeria, and in this regard, the Algerian chargé d'affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the meeting, he was informed of Paris's decision to expel Algerian diplomats.

"Our response is immediate, firm and fully proportionate to the same demand at this stage - the return to Algeria of holders of diplomatic passports who currently do not have visas," Barrot stressed.

It should be noted that on May 11, the Algerian government, at a meeting held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, demanded that the chargé d'affaires of the French embassy in this country immediately expel fifteen employees of the embassy who are considered illegal.

Relations between France and Algeria deteriorated in the summer of 2024, following Paris' recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara. In response, Algeria recalled its ambassador to Paris and canceled President Tebboune's visit to France, originally scheduled for September 2024. The arrest of Algerian-French writer Boualem Sansal in November of that year further complicated the situation.