Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: FRANCE and Algeria agreed on February 17 to restart security cooperation during a visit to Algiers by French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, marking the first sign of a thaw in diplomatic ties.
After meeting with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Nuñez said both sides had agreed to “reactivate a high-level security cooperation mechanism.” The visit took place against a backdrop of thorny relations between France and its former colony, frayed since Paris in 2024 officially backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, where Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front.
According to images released by Algerian authorities, the talks brought together senior security officials from both countries, including France’s domestic intelligence chief and Algeria’s head of internal security. Both sides have a backlog of issues to tackle. Nuñez said he intended to raise “all security issues,” including drug trafficking and counterterrorism.
Algeria plays a key role in the latter, sharing borders with juntaled Niger and Mali, both gripped by jihadist violence. Nuñez had also mentioned the case of Christophe Gleizes, a French sports journalist serving a seven-year sentence for “glorifying terrorism.”
