Jailed Writers, Sahara Showdown: France-Algeria Relations Hit New Low

-Analysis-

PARIS — On Monday, a court in Algiers sentenced French journalist Christophe Gleizes to seven years in prison. The next day, another Algerian court upheld a five-year jail sentence for French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal.

These are dark days indeed for writers with French passports in Algeria.

It bears repeating: the place of a journalist or a writer is never in prison for actions that fall under freedom of expression or freedom of the press. No one is above the law, but nothing in either case justifies incarceration — what we are witnessing is the arbitrary reign of an autocracy.

Countries that imprison writers and journalists are, without exception, authoritarian at best — outright totalitarian more often than not. In such states, the law is merely a tool wielded by political power, used and abused at will.

But there is also a specific tension that also explains these cases. For the past year, Algeria has been punishing France for its policy shift on Western Sahara, now favoring the Moroccan position in the half-century long territorial dispute.

The current cases against the French writers must also be understood within that broader political context.

Independence Day pardon?

Paris is now waiting — or rather hoping — for a presidential pardon for Boualem Sansal, who was arrested in Algeria on Nov. 16, 2024, shortly after saying in French far-right outlet Frontières that France had unfairly ceded Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial era. In March, Sansal was sentenced to five years in prison.

The pardon could come as soon as Friday, on the occasion of Algeria’s Independence Day. This was clearly implied yesterday by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot in remarks to the French National Assembly, when he stated that Algeria faced a choice of “responsibility, humanity, and respect.”

Such a pardon will only be granted if Algeria seeks to de-escalate tensions with France.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, a hardliner on Algeria, expressed similar views on the matter in a radio interview before the verdict on Tuesday, stating he was choosing his words carefully so as “not to jeopardize any chance of securing [Sansal’s] release.”

A presidential pardon has the benefit of being a sovereign decision by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. It could be justified by Sansal’s age (80) and poor health. But such a pardon will only be granted if the Algerian leadership seeks to de-escalate tensions with France — and no one can say for certain whether that’s the case today.

Part diplomacy, part couples therapy

What if no pardon is issued? It would be a heavy blow to France — and a clear signal that Algiers is not finished settling scores with its former colonial ruler. Hardliners in Paris would be vindicated.

Indeed, Franco-Algerian relations have always been part diplomacy, part couples therapy. With around 10% of the French population connected in some way to Algeria’s past, memories that remain vivid and conflictual.

Some in Paris believe normalizing ties with Algeria is impossible

Some in Paris believe normalizing ties with Algeria will remain impossible as long as the country is governed by octogenarians from the independence era, in a nation where 70% of the population is under 30. On the other hand, many Algerians argue that normalization is equally impossible as long as France’s political class continues to weaponize immigration for electoral gain.

The paradox is that Emmanuel Macron has gone further than any other French president to improve relations with Algeria. His personal rapport with President Tebboune had given him hope.

It all comes down to Friday: the fate of Boualem Sansal, and that of Franco-Algerian relations, hangs in the balance.