Macron Hopes France-Algeria Tensions to Cool Down

PARIS (Sputnik) – French President Emmanuel Macron expressed hope on Tuesday for easing tensions in the country's relations with Algeria which have been mounting ever since France hardened visa conditions for Algerian, Tunisian, and Moroccan nationals.

"I want to calm down, because I think it's better to talk to each other, to move forward. Undoubtedly, there are disagreements... I just think there are too many of our fellow citizens whose stories are intertwined with Algeria to act as if nothing happened. And so there will inevitably be many other tense moments. But I think my task is to try to make progress in this matter because this is our duty to the youth and many millions of our fellow citizens," Macron said in an interview with the France Inter broadcaster.

He expressed respect to the people of Algeria and noted to have "really warm relations" with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

Over the weekend, Algiers recalled its ambassador to Paris for consultations and banned French military jets from flying through its airspace after the European nation confirmed the introduction of visa curbs in response to what it described as lack of cooperation from three North African states regarding the issuance of consular passes to return migrants to their homelands.

On Sunday, Tebboune commented on the ambassador's recall from Paris by accusing Macron of twisting the truth about the history of his nation as "completely rewritten" by the ruling classes. He described the French counterpart's statements to Le Monde newspaper as irresponsible and insulting the memory of people who had died during France's colonial rule of Algeria.