"He doesn't realize that colonization is over": the left criticizes Retailleau's diplomatic activism

Bruno Retailleau 's ministerial portfolio is expanding. In addition to being Minister of the Interior, he would also be Minister of Foreign Affairs, according to several left-wing elected officials. "Mr. Retailleau does not realize that colonization is over. It is no longer the French Minister of the Interior who manages relations with Algeria," Éric Coquerel was indignant on BFMTV, accusing France's top cop of being in a "braggart relationship (...) with a kind of racist background."

The Insoumis MP for Seine-Saint-Denis accuses the government of committing a "rare stupidity" and a "historical mistake" , after access restrictions were put in place against Algerian dignitaries. "Do we think of our six million fellow citizens who, in one way or another, have a connection with Algeria?" asks the chairman of the finance committee, deploring a "hallucinatory" method.

Also read: Bruno Retailleau wants to open a diplomatic front against Algiers

While the Quai d'Orsay is proposing restrictions on the issuance of visas on a European scale, Éric Coquerel immediately believes that "this will serve no purpose" . "The question is not to punish the Algerian people, it is to gain respect in our relations with Algeria. It is a question of diplomatic relations" , underlines Fabien Roussel . On Sud Radio, the leader of the communists called on Bruno Retailleau to "let the President of the Republic and the Minister of Foreign Affairs do as they please" . "It is up to French diplomacy to get to work" , adds Éric Coquerel.

The two left-wing elected officials also pointed out the role played by the recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in the deterioration of Franco-Algerian relations. "Algeria experienced it as a betrayal and a stab in the back," notes Fabien Roussel, while the Sahrawi independence fighters of the Polisario Front are actively supported by Algeria. "These are things that, for Algiers, are experienced as a provocation," considers Éric Coquerel. If the Insoumis come to power, their first diplomatic trip will be to Algeria.