French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou warned on Wednesday that France may revoke a long-standing free movement agreement with Algeria following a fatal knife attack, in which the primary suspect is of Algerian origin.
The latest dispute adds to ongoing tensions between France and its former colony.
Bayrou made the statement after a cabinet meeting held in response to Saturday’s attack in Mulhouse, where one person was killed and several others injured.
Prosecutors identified the 37-year-old suspect as an Algerian-born man who was on a terrorism watchlist and had been subject to multiple deportation orders.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau revealed that France had made repeated attempts to expel him, but Algeria refused to take him back.
Bayrou directly blamed Algeria’s refusal to comply with repatriation agreements for the attack. “The victims we saw in Mulhouse this weekend are the direct victims of the refusal to apply these agreements,” he said.
He added that French authorities had presented the suspect to Algerian officials 14 times, yet each time they declined to accept him.
Under a 1968 agreement between the two nations, Algerians receive preferential immigration treatment in France. However, in recent months, Algeria has repeatedly refused to accept deported citizens.
Bayrou said France would formally request Algeria to review how the agreements are being enforced, allowing them “a month to six weeks to comply.”
If no resolution is reached, Bayrou warned that “cancelling the existing agreements would be the only possible outcome,” though he noted, “this is not the one we want.”
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Tuesday announced travel restrictions for Algerian officials.
On Wednesday, Barrot confirmed that these measures—affecting several hundred individuals—had already been in place for weeks. Algeria has condemned the move as a “provocation.”
This latest dispute further strains relations between Paris and Algiers.
Bayrou also voiced “great concern” over the health of French-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal, who remains detained in Algeria on national security charges.
Additionally, Algeria’s Senate cut ties with its French counterpart following a visit by French Senate President Gerard Larcher to Western Sahara—a disputed territory largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.
