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After France decided to reduce the number of visas issued to Algerians, relations between the two countries were strained.
Algeria has recalled its ambassador to France for consultations, but the reason is not clear.
The President’s Office said on Saturday that it will issue a statement on the issue later.
On Thursday, the government said it had summoned the French ambassador to Algiers after Paris decided to reduce the number of visas issued to nationals of Algeria and other countries in the Maghreb region of North Africa.
“We will reduce the number of visas very significantly,” French Interior Minister Gerald Dammanin said in Paris on Wednesday.
He added that the number of visas for Algeria and Morocco will be reduced by 50%, while the number of visas for Tunisian nationals will be reduced by two-thirds.
The Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described this move as “a unilateral decision of the French government”. France said it was in response to the Maghreb government’s refusal to accept illegal immigrants and refugees repatriated from Paris.
“Unreasonable” actions
On the eve of the French election, immigration has become a key issue among conservatives and far-right camps.
The far-right French presidential candidate Marina Le Pen gave qualified support for visa exemption on Tuesday, but said the government of President Emmanuel Macron had waited too long to take action.
Le Pen is Macron’s main rival in the 2017 general election and is regarded as his main rival.
The Moroccan foreign minister on Tuesday criticized France’s decision as “unreasonable.”
Nasser Bourita said his country has issued 400 consular documents to Moroccans deported from France, but the number is limited because many of them refuse to be tested for coronavirus, which is necessary to re-enter Morocco .
Britta said at a press conference in the capital Rabat that this is a “problem that must be resolved in France.”
Tunisia has adopted a more conciliatory public position. The Office of President Case Said said: “We are one of the countries that cooperate in this field, and we have a good relationship with France.”
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