France tightens border controls against Algerian nationals

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced a “graduated response” to Algerian nationals entering the country, confirming that authorities have already turned back some arrivals at Roissy Airport, as reported by Moroccan media citing Le Figaro. The move comes against a backdrop of a fraying of Franco-Algerian diplomatic ties.

Under the new measures, Algerians with diplomatic passports must now present a mission order, without which some individuals denied entry. Retailleau described the policy as a targeted approach, focusing on specific individuals rather than broad restrictions.

“This response is the most effective. It allows us to act on a case-by-case basis, particularly concerning members of the Algerian elite,” he told Le Figaro. A source close to the matter confirmed to Le Figaro that the wife of Algeria’s ambassador to Mali was among those refused entry for allegedly lacking proper travel documents. The move underscores Paris’s stricter migration stance amid its standoff with Algiers.