PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron urged a tougher line from Paris in an intensifying standoff with former north African colony Algeria, saying France’s stance needed to “command respect.”
Tensions have grown in recent months to new levels between Paris and Algiers, with Macron’s hopes of the historic post-colonial reconciliation that he espoused at the start of his presidency now appearing a distant dream.
Algeria is holding in prison French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal and also the prominent French football journalist Christophe Gleizes, while Paris has accused pro-Algiers influencers of inciting hatred inside France.
“France must be strong and command respect,” Macron said in a letter to Prime Minister Francois Bayrou published by the daily newspaper Le Figaro online late Wednesday and in its print edition Thursday.
“It can only obtain this from its partners if it itself shows them the respect it demands. This basic rule also applies to Algeria,” he writes.
