France Vows Response After Algeria Refuses to Cooperate With Expulsion Order

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau vowed a “gradual response” after Algeria refused Paris’ demand to readmit Algerian nationals from France that local authorities have deemed a threat and are seeking to expel.

Retailleau’s threat comes after the French government last week sent a list to Algiers of Algerian nationals it is seeking to deport after a deadly knife attack that was purportedly carried out by an Algerian citizen. The suspect had reportedly been expelled 14 times but remained in France due to Algeria’s refusal to allow reentry.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou last week warned that if Algeria, which won independence in 1962 after a brutal war and more than a century of French occupation, refused to take the individuals back, France would consider withdrawing from a 1968 agreement that facilitates Algerian immigration to France. {snip}

Algeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded on Monday with a statement accusing France of acting in violation of the current diplomatic agreements between the two countries. {snip}

{snip} Only about 10 percent of expulsion orders issued by French authorities result in actual departures, as they are often held up due to diplomatic tensions with various host countries.

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