French presidential candidate Dominique de Villepin versus Le Pen:
Former French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, during the era of former President, Jacques Chirac, attacked the far-right ideology based on targeting Algeria, represented by what was known as the “balances of power” logic, in response to provocative and racist statements by one of the far-right political figures in France, in a sharp and charged debate.
On the floor of the French private news channel BFM TV, from Thursday to Friday night, De Villepin, who is collecting signatures to run in the upcoming French presidential elections, expressed his rejection of the situation that Algerian-French relations have reached and called for it to be corrected before it is too late.
De Villepin said in the debate that he rejects “the policy of confrontation and escalation with Algeria,” considering that “the situation in the relationship with Algeria is unacceptable, and we cannot find a basis for understanding with it, but not through confrontation, but rather through dialogue,” and he estimated that “the policy of confrontation has some unprofessionalism in the diplomatic field… abyss diplomacy.”
De Villepin’s words came in response to Marion Maréchal, the niece of Marine Le Pen, the current candidate of the National Rally party and the former extremist right-wing National Front, who attacked the Algerian community residing in France in a blatant and racist manner, and described some of its members as “saboteurs and those who take long sick leave.” Marine Le Pen’s relative seemed disturbed by De Villepin’s stance towards Algeria, so she addressed him, saying, “Because you are a friend of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.”
Dominique de Villepin, who also held the position of French Minister of Foreign Affairs in the period between 2005 and 2007, remained calm despite Marion Maréchal’s provocations, and responded to her by asking: “For us to say that this is Algeria’s fault, does that push us forward?” This is the usual position of the founder of the “France Humanitarian” movement, who said in a previous statement that “the equation with Algeria can only lead to a diplomatic and political solution and not escalation.”
The candidate of the remnants of the Gaullist movement for the upcoming French presidential elections expressed his rejection of the demands of politicians in the right-wing movement and the extreme right, who have not stopped demanding the abolition of the 1968 migration agreement between Algeria and France. He was surprised by this position in exchange for Algeria’s demand for concessions in the crisis that has afflicted the two countries for more than two years.
The former Foreign Minister addressed his debate in the court: “You are demanding the cancellation of the 1968 agreement, and at the same time you want Algeria to make concessions to you… How do you do that? You know that the agreement must have at least two parties to it, and they must agree to cancel or review it.”
Dominique de Villepin also stressed that the policy of confrontation and escalation pursued by the former French Minister of the Interior, Bruno Rotayo, had ended in failure: “Attempts were made at some point to implement this ‘policy of firmness’, but they did not achieve any results. However, I note with some satisfaction that the matter seems easier for Marion Maréchal, because when the issue of Algeria comes up, you find the extreme right completely paving the way and laying out the red carpet, to launch an attack on the Algerians.”
This is not the first time that the former French Foreign Minister has expressed his rejection of the policy adopted by the administration of French President Emmanuel Macron towards it. It has previously been confirmed that the policy of confrontation and escalation is what exacerbated the situation and complicated the task of releasing Boualem Sansal, and prevented the sports journalist, Christophe Glez, from obtaining a presidential pardon.
