Algeria: drastic reduction of certain advantages of the French Embassy
According to information from the Arabophobic newspaper Ennahar dated Wednesday, April 30, the residence of the French ambassador in Algiers, who previously occupied 4 hectare land, will now be limited to a hectare.
The area of the embassy, which covered 14 hectares, will be reduced to only two. This update occurs in an atmosphere of increasing diplomatic tension between the two nations.
Algeria, behind these choices, underlines the principle of reciprocity. It regularly applies this principle when it judges that its delegates abroad are subject to actions considered to be unfavorable or discriminatory.
The Algerian reaction does not leave the financial domain aside. Algeria plans to enhance the symbolic rent so far paid by France for the use of diplomatic buildings.
According to the forecasts cited by an Algerian media, this rent, stable for many years, will be adjusted to climb to several million euros annually. This increase reflects the desire of Algeria to eliminate privileges deemed exceeded.
It is possible that talks on diplomatic rental contracts are starting soon. The new conditions may be implemented as soon as the renewal periods stipulated in current bilateral agreements are concluded.
The trigger for this Algerian reaction is based in Neuilly-sur-Seine, where the town hall, under the direction of Christophe Fromentin, abolished the parking spaces reserved for the residence of the Algerian ambassador. An annual tax of 11,700 euros was also established for the implementation of a safety system before the building.
Although these decisions were taken at the local level, they were interpreted in Algiers as an obvious political message. They are added to other recent events, in particular the arrest of an Algerian consular employee in Paris, as part of an exiled Algerian influencer.
