Some 7,730 obligations to leave French territory (OQTF) have been pronounced since January against Algerian nationals, assured Monday the entourage of the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin, in response to the Algerian president accusing him of "big lie".
"Moussa Darmanin has built a big lie", declared Sunday Abdelmadjid Tebboune, to the address of the French Minister of the Interior of which Moussa is the middle name given in homage to his grandfather, an Algerian rifleman of the Second World War . "There have never been 7,000 (Algerian illegal immigrants, editor's note), this is completely false," President Tebboune declared in an interview with several Algerian media. "The list that reached us in 2020 and the three lists in 2021 counted 94 cases among which 21 were accepted and 16 others rejected", assured the Algerian president. “They are not going to return (to Algeria) because they are linked to terrorism. They came from Syria (...) There are binationals who have no family here, ”he added.
The entourage of Gerald Darmanin explained in response Monday: "The list (of 94 Algerians, Editor's note) to which President Tebboune refers to ultra-priority profiles, those listed for radicalization and which are considered to be the most dangerous, which 'we want to send back as soon as possible ”.
" Not acceptable"
France announced on September 28 a reduction of visas by half for Algeria and Morocco and by a third for Tunisia, citing as the reason the "refusal" of these countries to issue the consular passes necessary for the return of immigrants returned from France.
The number of consular passes allocated since the beginning of the year, "about thirty", "is not acceptable", repeated Monday the entourage of the Minister of the Interior.
Moreover, in another migration file, the British government said Monday that it would give France "in the coming weeks" the money promised to fight against the smuggling of migrants from the French coasts, a source of tension between the two countries. Asked by the BBC on the date on which this money would be handed over to France, British Home Secretary Damian Hinds said he expected this issue to be "finalized in the coming weeks" . During a trip on Saturday to Loon-Plage, in northern France, the French Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin asked the British government to honor its commitment to pay France 62.7 million euros in 2021-2022 to finance the strengthening of French law enforcement agencies on the coasts.