“The accounts with the largest number of followers have Arabic-speaking audiences spread across multiple countries,” said a government adviser familiar with the investigation. But they have “widespread resonance in France,” he says.
The two countries are also at odds over the fate of Boualem Sansal, a 75-year-old French-Algerian writer and outspoken critic of the Algerian regime who was detained after stepping off a plane in Algiers in November, with Macron He blames Algeria. “You will disgrace yourself.” On Thursday, the European Parliament approved a resolution calling for Sansar’s immediate release, citing human rights violations.
Macron’s move towards Western Sahara comes after efforts by the French president to mend relations failed. Some interpret this as a pragmatic move by Macron to strengthen ties with one of the region’s few remaining allies, perhaps at the expense of Algeria. Many of France’s historic allies in the Sahel, many of them former colonies, became hostile.
The move towards Western Sahara and President Macron’s open support for Sansar has infuriated the Algerian regime, and some now suspect that the Algerian diaspora is fueling the online campaign, either directly or by proxy.
Algerian state media has a long history of attacking France, fanning the flames of resentment and anger against Paris among parts of the country’s Algerian population and Algerian communities abroad. After reporting on Sansal’s arrest and Macron’s initial criticism, Algeria’s state news agency slammed France’s political class, accusing it of violating Algeria’s sovereignty.
“The regime in Algeria is very weak, and the weaker it is, the bigger the blow to France,” said the person, who, like others mentioned in this article, was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive issues. said one French diplomatic official. “French positions in Western Sahara are seen as an attack on the rear.”
