Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 'Israel' launches series of airstrikes on Ali al-Taher area on outskirts of Nabatieh al-Fawqa in southern Lebanon.
Reuters, citing German authorities: 15 flights diverted to Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Vienna, and Frankfurt following drone warning.
Reuters: 17 flights canceled and travel disrupted for around 3,000 passengers following the warning.
Reuters, citing German authorities: Munich airport operations suspended after drone sightings.
Cuban Foreign Minister: We warn that these actions constitute a threat to regional peace, security, and stability.
Cuban Foreign Minister: We condemn the illegal incursion of US warplanes into Venezuela’s Flight Information Region.
Maduro: All Bolivarian militia structures, from national and regional command to comprehensive defense zones in each municipality, will participate in the training.
President Nicolás Maduro: We have planned an exclusive training exercise for Saturday on leadership, command, and communication for all structures of the National Armed Forces.
Tunisian President: The government will not abandon its responsibilities to bring back its citizens detained by the Israeli entity.
Anadolu: Erdogan issues presidential decree to freeze assets of dozens of Iranian entities linked to Iran’s nuclear program

Algeria expels 12 French officials amid influencer kidnap row

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 14 Apr 2025 11:02
3 Min Read

Algeria has ordered 12 French officials to leave the country following the arrest of three Algerian nationals, including a consular official, linked to the kidnapping of exiled influencer and government critic Amir Boukhors.

Listen
  • x
    • A picture taken on July 23, 2021 shows an Algerian flag fluttering on the facade of the embassy in Paris (Joël Saget/AFP)
      A picture taken on July 23, 2021 shows an Algerian flag fluttering on the facade of the embassy in Paris. (AFP)

France’s foreign minister announced that Algeria has ordered 12 French officials to leave the country within 48 hours on Monday, a decision reportedly connected to the recent detention of three Algerian nationals in France.

"I am asking Algerian authorities to abandon these expulsion measures... if the decision to send back our officials is maintained, we will have no other choice but to respond immediately," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.

The relationship between the two countries has been marked by tension, as Algeria gained independence from France in 1962 following a violent war of liberation in which tens of thousands of Algerians were killed by French colonial troops. 

The 12 include some members of the French Interior Ministry, a diplomatic source told Agence France-Presse (AFP). On Friday, French prosecutors indicted three Algerians, including a consular official, on suspicion of involvement in the April 2024 abduction of an Algerian influencer, Amir Boukhors, in a Paris suburb.

Related News

France expels Algerian diplomats amid kidnap case, tensions rise

The timing of the indictment is sensitive, as it risks straining the already fragile relationship between Algeria and its former colonial ruler. Algiers has accused France of trying to undermine recent efforts to mend diplomatic ties. Amir Boukhors, also known as "Amir DZ," is a vocal critic of the Algerian government and has amassed over a million followers on TikTok.

Boukhors has been living in France since 2016 and was granted political asylum in 2023. His lawyer says he was kidnapped in April 2024 but released the next day. Algerian authorities are demanding his extradition to stand trial, citing nine international arrest warrants issued against him on charges of fraud and terrorism.

Deportation, sovereignty, and influence

This comes after a separate incident in March involving Algerian influencer Boualem Naman, known as "Doualemn," who was detained in Montpellier and ordered to be deported to Algeria following a controversial TikTok video. Although France had previously attempted to deport him in January, Algeria refused to accept him, and the same happened again in March when he was briefly returned before being sent back to France the same evening. The Hérault Deportation Commission had approved his removal on March 12, and according to his lawyer, he was arrested at dawn at his daughter’s home by around twenty police officers, reportedly in front of his grandchildren.

Another incident in 2024 added to the growing tension between France and Algeria, this time over the disputed region of Western Sahara. France sparked backlash when President Emmanuel Macron declared that Morocco’s proposal to grant autonomy to Western Sahara was the only solution to the long-running conflict. He made the statement in a letter to King Mohammed VI, congratulating him on 25 years of reign.

Algeria, which supports the pro-independence Polisario Front, reacted strongly by recalling its ambassador from Paris. The Algerian Foreign Ministry criticized Macron’s stance as an unprecedented move by the French government. 

  • Algeria
  • France
  • Amir Boukhors

Most Read

Last photo showing Martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Martyr Hajj Hassan in a Resistance operations room, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, days before their martyrdom (Al Mayadeen)

In heart of battle: Al Mayadeen shares last photo of Sayyed Nasrallah

  • Politics
  • 27 Sep 2025
Hamas fighters stand in formation ahead of a ceremony to hand over Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP)

Hamas reviews Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan as PIJ rejects

  • Palestine
  • 30 Sep 2025
Iraq at a crossroads: A new war front?

Iraq at a crossroads: A new war front?

  • West Asia
  • 30 Sep 2025
Trump’s 21-point Gaza plan vs Netanyahu’s demand for Hamas defeat

Trump vows 'something special' in ME; Israeli delegation in chaos

  • US & Canada
  • 28 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)
Politics

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses a meeting with foreign policy experts at the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, on Thursday, October 2, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Putin warns Europe on militarization, calls Gaza war a tragedy

Activists in orange life jackets sit aboard a Gaza-bound Sumud flotilla boat as Israeli navy soldiers sail it into the port of Asdod, occupied Palestine, Thursday, Octember 2, 2025, after it was intercepted while approaching the Gaza coast (AP)
Politics

South Africa demands 'Israel' release Gaza flotilla activists

The leader of Yemen's Ansar Allah movement, Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. (Al-Masirah TV)
Politics

Trump's plan aims to disarm, expel Gaza's defenders: Sayyed al-Houthi

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS