Amid the worsening diplomatic tension between France and Algeria, the French government may decide to impose stricter rules on Algerians wanting to reach the country for work purposes.
This was confirmed by Minister Delegate for Labour and Employment, Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet during an interview for RTL radio, Schengen.News reports.
At the beginning of this week, France’s Minister of Interior, Bruno Retailleau, promised that he would take a “graduated response” against Algeria after the latter rejected a list of Algerian nationals to be expelled from the French territory.
Asked whether the strategy of Minister Retailleau could involve the restriction of work visas for Algerian nationals, Panosyan-Bouvet said that such a measure is part of the “graduated response”, confirming that Algerian work visa applicants will also be affected, TSA explains.
Indeed, that is part of the graduated responses.
While Panosyan-Bouvet made such a statement, she did not provide any further information. It is still unclear if France wants only to impose stricter rules or cut the number of work visas for Algerian nationals.
If France decides to restrict work visas Algerian highly skilled and highly qualified workers are expected to be the most affected. However, other groups will also face obstacles.
France to Suspend Visa-Free Entry for Algerian Diplomatic Passport Holders
Following the rejection of a list containing around 60 nationals of Algeria that France wants to expel from its territory, The Minister of Interior of France, Bruno Retailleau, said that the country will end visa exemption for Algerian diplomatic passport holders.
The list was rejected by the Algerian authorities on Monday, despite the French authorities saying that those listed are considered dangerous and asking for Algeria’s cooperation in their repatriation.
In their response, the Algerian authorities said they had decided not to follow up on the list submitted by France and invited France to follow “the usual channel” for concerned Algerian nationals.
This situation and response from Algeria further worsened the ongoing diplomatic tension between the two countries, with Minister Retailleau saying that a “graduated response” would be taken, indicating the suspension of the 2007 agreements that allow Algerian diplomatic holders to enjoy visa-free travel privileges.
As decided by the Interministerial Committee under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, a graduated response will be undertaken.
This is not the first time that Algeria has refused to take back its nationals who have received an order to leave the French territory. In addition to the authorities, this has also raised concerns among French citizens, with 84 per cent of them supporting the total visa suspension for Algerian nationals.