An image released on May 9, 2026, by the Algerian presidency shows the French ambassador to Algeria, Stéphane Romatet, the minister delegate for the armed forces, Alice Rufo, and the Algerian president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in Algiers. PRÉSIDENCE ALGÉRIENNE/FACEBOOK VIA AFP
On Monday, May 11, Christophe Gleizes received his first visit from the French consul general in Algiers at Koléa prison, about 40 kilometers from the capital, where he is serving a seven-year sentence for "advocating terrorism" and "possessing publications for the purpose of propaganda harmful to national interests" – one more step along the steep path toward reconciliation between France and Algeria.
The Algerian judiciary accused the So Press (So Foot, Society) contributor, who was arrested in May 2024 while reporting on the Tizi Ouzou football club, Jeunesse sportive de Kabylie ("Youth Sports Club of Kabylia"), for holding interviews with figures linked to the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia (which is classified as a terrorist organization by Algerian authorities).
Until now, Algerian authorities had systematically denied the French journalist this consular visit. Alice Rufo, the minister delegate for the armed forces, who had traveled to Algeria for commemorations of the May 8, 1945, massacres in Sétif, announced the news on Saturday following her meeting with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
