Algeria recalls ambassador to France

ALGIERS - Algeria on Saturday rejected “inadmissable interference” in its affairs, hours after recalling its ambassador from Paris following comments by French president Emmanuel Macron reported by the French and Algerian media.

The statement, from the Algerian presidency, said it had withdrawn its ambassador following media reports of the French leader’s comments, which had not been denied.

The French daily Le Monde reported that Macron had made critical remarks about the former French colony during a meeting Thursday with descendants of figures from the war of independence.

Macron reportedly said the country was ruled by a“political military system” and described Algeria as having an “official history” which had been “totally re-written”, the paper reported.

He said this history was “not based on truths” but “on a discourse of hatred towards France”, according to Le Monde - though he made clear that he was not referring to Algerian society as a whole but to the ruling elite.

The statement from the Algerian presidency said: “Following remarks that have not been denied, which several French sources have attributed by name to (Macron), Algeria expresses its categorical rejection of the inadmissible interference in its internal affairs.”

Macron also spoke out on current Algerian politics. His counterpart Abdelmajid Tebboune was “trapped in a system which is very tough”, the French president was quoted as saying.

“You can see that the Algerian system is tired, it has been weakened by the Hirak,” he added, referring to the pro-democracy movement, which forced Tebboune’ s predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power in 2019 after two decades at the helm.