Diplomatic crisis grows as France investigates Algerian influencers

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - PARIS — Six Algerian citizens living in France are being investigated for allegedly promoting hatred and violence against opponents of Algeria's government, inflaming tensions between Algiers and Paris.

Three Algerians were arrested by the French authorities at the start of the year for content posted on their social media. A Franco-Algerian TikToker was then detained on Thursday.

A further two Franco-Algerian influencers, who have not been arrested, are also being investigated, authorities in Lyon announced on Monday.

The six are alleged to have incited violence and hatred online through material targeting critics of the Algerian government.

The series of arrests and investigations has led to a diplomatic crisis between France and Algeria, whose relationship started to sour last year, following the French government's decision to support Morocco's claim of sovereignty over Western Sahara.

Boualem Naman, 59, a cleaner who goes by the name of "Doualemn", is one of the accused.

He was arrested in Montpelier on 5 January for allegedly promoting violence on social media.

Naman — who has 138,000 followers on TikTok — posted a video filmed in Arabic that called for "infliction of pain" on an Algerian anti-government protester, according to French media.

At the Montpellier's public prosecutor's office request, two interpreters watched the video. They said Naman called for a man in Algeria to be "beaten", but added that he did not say the words "kill him", as had previously been reported.

The 59-year-old suspect was subsequently placed on a flight to Algiers on Thursday.

However, Algeria refused to admit him, arguing that Naman, who has lived in France for 36 years, had the right to defend himself in French court. He was sent back to France that evening, according to the French Interior Ministry.

After the incident, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau suggested that Algeria was “trying to humiliate France”.

“I think we’ve reached an extremely worrying threshold with Algeria," he said on Friday.

In response, Algeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that Paris was "waging a campaign of disinformation" against it.

Meanwhile, Naman's lawyers Jean-Baptiste Mousset and Marie David-Bellouard said their client was "paying the price" of a "tense political and diplomatic situation."

Months before the influencers were arrested, relations between France and its former colony had already started to deteriorate.

Last year, Emmanuel Macron's government reversed its historical position on the disputed territory of Western Sahara, choosing to support Morocco's claim to it.

The move proved very unpopular with Algeria, which supports the Sahrawi people's claim to self-determination and which cut its diplomatic ties with Morocco in 2021, after it accused its neighbour of "hostile actions".

To express its disapproval of France's decision, the Algerian government recalled its ambassador from Paris.

France's attempt to strengthen its business and diplomatic relations with Morocco has also intensified the crisis. President Macron visited the country for three days in October.

After being re-elected in September, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced that he would not travel to France, having repeatedly postponed a state visit that was initially planned for May 2023.

Since coming to power, Tebboune has repressed freedom of expression in Algeria, imprisoning journalists and pro-democracy activists.

Last week, President Macron accused Algeria of "disgracing itself" by imprisoning the 75-year-old Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who is a strong critic of the Algerian government. — Euronews