Just like Morocco, Algeria does not appreciate that the French government has taken the decision to reduce the number of visas granted to nationals of these countries. A measure taken Tuesday by Paris which accuses the three Maghreb countries of not issuing the consular passes necessary for the return of immigrants when they have an obligation to leave France.
In response to the French government, the Algerian foreign ministry summoned the French ambassador to Algeria on Wednesday. François Gouyette was notified of “a formal protest from the Algerian government following a unilateral decision by the French government affecting the quality and fluidity of the movement of Algerian nationals to France,” the ministry said in a statement.
An “unfortunate act”
“This decision, which was taken without prior consultation with the Algerian party, contains the crippling anomaly of having been the subject of media uproar generating confusion and ambiguity as to its motivations and its scope”, estimated the Algerian ministry. He also deplored an “unfortunate act which strikes with precariousness and uncertainty a sensitive area of cooperation” between the two countries.
Morocco deplored on Tuesday France’s decision qualifying it as “unjustified”. Unlike its neighbors, Tunisia has not reacted officially, but many of its citizens displayed their concern Wednesday in front of the offices of TLS Contact, the only private company authorized to receive visa pre-applications for France.