The Algerian Government denied, on Thursday, November 7, the existence of trade sanctions that had been decided against France after its pro-Moroccan diplomatic turn on the issue of Western Sahara. “The Prime Minister’s communications unit wishes to categorically deny this erroneous and totally unfounded information.”indicates a statement published by the official APS press agency, citing by name the former French ambassador in Algiers, Xavier Driencourt, as the origin of such “false accusations”.
The retired French diplomat, who does not hide his criticism against the Algerian regime, reported, on Wednesday, on the social network Two Countries, following the recent recognition by Emmanuel Macron of the “Moroccan sovereignty” on Western Sahara. The French president solemnly confirmed this pro-Moroccan turn during his state visit to Morocco, from October 28 to 30.
On the Algerian side, the reaction to France’s change of position on this issue initially seemed minimalist. Absorbed in the campaign for the presidential elections of September 7, which led to the re-election of Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the authorities in Algiers waited until the electoral mortgage was lifted before deciding their response. They also wanted to observe how Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Morocco could develop. The sumptuous staging of Franco-Moroccan reconciliation, in particular the ovation received by the French president in Parliament in Rabat, aroused his annoyance.
“Delusional mandate”
Algeria’s refusal to adopt trade sanctions against Paris expresses obvious shame in the corridors of power. A meeting took place on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Professional Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (ABEF) in Algiers, during which informal instructions were given to the managers of Algerian public banks and foreign private banks, some of them authorities French, so as not to process direct debits for imports and exports to and from France.
This decision appears to have caused a confrontation within the Algerian government. The ABEF, which has association status, does not legally have the right to give directives to banks, which are under the supervision of the Central Bank of Algeria. The Algerian authorities, however, had de facto forced him to play this role, in June 2022, following the decision of the head of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, to align with Morocco on the issue of Western Sahara. On this occasion, the ABEF notified public and private banks to stop domiciling commercial operations with Spain. The measure was then considered counterproductive by Algerian economic operators: with no political impact on the Western Sahara issue, it inflicted losses mainly on Algerian companies working with Spain.
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