The French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, announced on Sunday a return “to a normal consular relationship” with Algeria since “Monday” last, that is to say concerning the granting of visas by France to nationals of that country.
Darmanin, who was traveling in Algeria, tweeted his statement after his meeting with his Algerian counterpart. Since the Covid-19 crisis, France had drastically reduced the number of visas granted to Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, conditioning them on efforts by these countries to accept their nationals expelled from France.
After Morocco and Tunisia
This normalization of the granting of visas to Algerian nationals comes after that with Tunisia at the end of August and that with Morocco announced Friday by the head of French diplomacy Catherine Colonna.
Last fall, France decided to restrict the issuance of visas in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, in order to encourage these countries to make efforts in terms of cooperation and the fight against illegal immigration. The refusal rate had reached 30% for Tunisia, and 50% for Morocco and Algeria.
“It is not acceptable that we do not take back foreigners in an irregular situation who were identified as dangerous and disturbing public order”, explained French President Emmanuel Macron in November.
Agence