Algeria condemns planned French-Moroccan military drills

Algeria has denounced upcoming French-Moroccan military exercises near its border, summoning the French ambassador and calling the drills an “unjustified military escalation”, the New Arab reports. The exercise, Chergui 2025, is scheduled for September in Errachidia in southeastern Morocco, close to the border with Algeria.

Algerian officials see the move as a provocation, warning it will exacerbate regional tensions. Relations with France have deteriorated since President Emmanuel Macron’s 2024 endorsement of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara—a stance Algiers fiercely opposes. The dispute adds to existing friction, including France’s review of migration agreements and the arrest of Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal.

France has not publicly commented on the drills, framing military ties with Morocco as routine cooperation as laid out in a 2019 defense agreement. However, Algeria warns the situation risks serious escalation, further straining diplomatic ties between Algiers, Paris, and Rabat.