Algeria has ordered 12 staff members of the French embassy to leave the country within 48 hours, according to France’s Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot. This decision comes shortly after three Algerians were charged in France last Friday, including a consular official. They are suspected of being involved in the 2024 abduction of Amir Boukhors, a vocal critic of the Algerian government with over a million followers online.

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Boukhors, also known as Amir DZ, was reportedly granted asylum in France in 2023 and has lived there since 2016. He was kidnapped in April 2024 from a suburb south of Paris and released the following day. His lawyer, Eric Plouvier, said Boukhors had survived two previous attacks—one in 2022 and another on the night of April 29, 2024. French media reported that he was taken by individuals pretending to be police officers using a car with flashing lights and later found in a wooded area with no explanation given.

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Algeria considers Boukhors a threat, accusing him of having ties to terrorist groups and committing fraud. The country has issued nine international arrest warrants against him, but Boukhors denies all charges. In 2022, French courts rejected Algeria’s request to extradite him.

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Foreign Minister Barrot called on Algeria to reverse its decision to expel the diplomats and warned that France is ready to respond quickly if the move proceeds. He also highlighted that this is the first time a consulate employee from Algeria has been arrested by French authorities—an action that has strained efforts to repair diplomatic relations between the two nations.

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This incident also reflects internal political tensions in France. Some right-wing politicians have accused President Emmanuel Macron of being too soft on Algeria.

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Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau even threatened to resign unless Macron supports a tougher stance.

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The case adds to a series of disputes between the two countries. These include the imprisonment of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal in Algeria and Algeria's decision to recall its ambassador from Paris last year after France supported Morocco’s claim over Western Sahara.

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Among the 12 expelled French staff are reportedly members of the French Interior Ministry, according to a diplomatic source quoted by AFP.On Monday, Barrot said: "I am asking Algerian authorities to abandon these expulsion measures… if the decision to send back our officials is maintained, we will have no other choice but to respond immediately."

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Barrot claimed that the expulsions were a response to the indictment of three Algerian nationals on Friday in Paris - including the consular official - on charges including abduction, arbitrary detention and illegal confinement and participating in a terrorist organisation.

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Algeria's foreign ministry said it had summoned French ambassador Stéphane Romatet in response to "express its strong protest" and called for the official's immediate release, according to the official Algerian news agency.

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It added that the individual "was arrested in public and then taken into custody without notification through the diplomatic channels".The ministry claimed the move was "not a coincidence as it happens in a very specific context with the aim of stymying the process of relaunching bilateral relations".Tentative steps have been made to repair relations between the two nations with a phone call between French President Emmanuel Macron and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune taking place in March.

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"The two presidents had a long, frank and friendly exchange on the state of bilateral relations and the tensions that have built up in recent months," a joint statement read.

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Following an official visit to Algeria on 6 April where he met with Tebboune, Barrot said he hoped for a "new phase" in relations.

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