In an interview with “Figaro” published on Wednesday, the Prime Minister indicated that a renegotiation of the 1968 Franco-Algerian agreement was on the agenda.The text confers a favorable status to Algerians for their conditions of movement, stay and employment in France.It thus responds to a request from the right-wing opposition and certain members of the Macronist majority.
This is a particularly sensitive issue. In an interview given to Figaro, Wednesday December 6, Élisabeth Borne mentioned the Franco-Algerian agreement of 1968 which confers favorable status to Algerians for their conditions of movement, stay and employment in France. These nationals have since not had a residence card in France, but “residence certificates for Algerians”, of which 600,000 were issued in 2022.
Asked about the possibility of renegotiating the text, signed at a time when France needed help to support its economy, the Prime Minister assured that the question was “on today’s agenda”. It thus responds to a request from the right-wing opposition which wants Paris to call into question this agreement deemed too favorable to Algerians in terms of immigration. An idea supported by part of the Macronist majority.
Too favorable a status?
“In the conclusions of the fourth France-Algeria high-level intergovernmental committee, which was held in October 2022, we mentioned the opening of discussions with a view to a fourth amendment to this agreement. We have requests and the government Algerian has some on his side. So it is indeed on the agenda.” declared the head of government in the Ile-de-France daily.
This debate around the 1968 agreement comes a few days before the start of the examination, in the National Assembly, of the controversial immigration bill, which will be debated on Monday in the hemicycle. It is supported by the deputies Les Républicains who will propose on Thursday, in a resolution included on the agenda of the National Assembly, the “denunciation, by the French authorities, of the Franco-Algerian agreement of December 27, 1968”.
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This burning question caused a stir even in the presidential majority, with the Renaissance deputies not taking a dim view of sending a “signal” to Algeria, by calling into question the favorable status granted to its nationals. After an internal debate, the Macronist group finally decided to vote against the Republican resolution, while members of the allied Horizons party of former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will vote for. This question even pushed President Macron to react by warning parliamentarians, believing that “it is not up to the National Assembly to decide France’s foreign policy.”