French sources have revealed that the country has imposed visa requirements on Algerian diplomatic passport holders amid the ongoing tensions between the two countries.
Sources said for Le Figaro that from now on, all Algerian nationals who hold a diplomatic passport will not be permitted entry into the French territory if they do not hold a valid Schengen visa, Schengen.News reports.
The new measure comes as part of the “graduated response” that the Minister of the Interior of France, Bruno Retailleau, promised to take.
As explained, the headquarters of the General Directorate of the National Police sent a message to the relevant authorities on Saturday.
In its message, the Directorate states that Algerians who hold a diplomatic or service passport but who do not have a visa when arriving at the border will be subject to non-admission procedures. The body further noted that the measure is immediate and concerns all services managing external borders.
The Algerian national, holder of a diplomatic or service passport who does not have a visa when presenting himself at the border crossing points, will be subject to a non-admission / refoulement procedure.
The Directorate also asked the relevant border authorities to strictly apply the new measure imposed on Algerian diplomatic passport holders and to report any difficulties encountered.
France’s Decision to Require Visas for Algerian Diplomatic Passport Holders Follows Expulsion of 15 French Officials
The decision of France to impose visa requirements for Algerian diplomatic holders with immediate effect comes only some days after Algeria took measures against French officials on temporary reinforcement missions.
These officials were sent from France to Algeria for the purpose of temporary reinforcements in the visa sector, which has been dealing with staff shortages after the expulsion of some other officials.
However, Algeria required them to leave its territory immediately, with the reason that the French side had failed to establish procedures for assigning agents to the French diplomatic and consular representation in Algeria.
The Algerian authorities also said that the 14 French staff had been appointed under irregular conditions.
Commenting on the matter, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, Jean-Noël Barrot, called the move “unjustifiable”.
In response, France expelled Algerians with diplomatic passports but without visas. Minister Barrot said that the measure taken by France is “proportionate”.