French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin travelled to Algeria on Monday to discuss deepening judicial cooperation between the two countries and to raise the case of a detained French journalist, as a prolonged diplomatic dispute between Paris and Algiers shows signs of easing.
Darmanin's office described the visit as an effort to "open a new chapter in judicial cooperation" between France and Algeria, a North African country that was under French colonial rule until its independence in 1962. The two nations share deep historical, cultural, and migratory ties, but relations have been strained for nearly two years following a significant policy shift by Paris. In 2024, France formally recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara — a disputed territory on Africa's Atlantic coast — putting it at odds with Algeria, which backs the Polisario Front, the pro-independence movement seeking self-determination for the region.
The detention of Christophe Gleizes, a 37-year-old French sports journalist, is set to be a central topic of the talks. Gleizes was arrested in May 2024 while covering a football club in Algeria's Kabylia region, a predominantly Berber-speaking area in the north of the country, and was sentenced in June last year to seven years in prison on charges of "glorifying terrorism." His case has become a focal point of the bilateral tensions. On Monday, Gleizes received his first diplomatic visit since his arrest — a development his family welcomed cautiously. His mother has expressed hope for "very positive developments" regarding his return to France before the end of the month, after Gleizes dropped an appeal before Algeria's highest court in an apparent bid to make himself eligible for a presidential pardon.
Darmanin's trip is part of a broader, carefully managed diplomatic thaw. In February, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez visited Algiers to restart security cooperation, marking the first concrete step toward normalisation. More recently, France's deputy defence minister met Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and France's ambassador — who had been recalled to Paris roughly a year ago at the height of the crisis — returned to his post in Algiers.
The sequence of high-level visits signals that both governments are intent on rebuilding a relationship that is strategically important for security, migration, and economic reasons. The resolution of the Gleizes case is widely seen as a key symbolic test of how far that reconciliation can go.