Le Figaro Terms Algeria as “Collapsing State”

French daily “Le Figaro” described Algeria as a collapsing state and wondered if it will drag France with it in its fall.
In an article penned by Xavier Driencourt, France’s former ambassador in Algiers, the country’s state of play was outlined, and saying that the results are negative is an understatement.
According to the former diplomat, as Algerian president Tebboune is contemplating a second term in office, the results of his years as head of state should be discussed.
Driencourt said the “new” Algeria, born from the “Hirak” movement advocating progress, stability and democracy, is falling apart and might drag France with it as it did back in 1958, referring to the IV Republic.
After a brief glimpse of hope following the “Hirak”, the Algerian regime started showing its true colors: a ruthless, rentier and corrupted military regime disguised as a civilian one.
The regime will label France its “eternal enemy” and clamp down on journalists, politicians, civil servants and the military linked to the old regime. It will use the 2020 epidemic to get rid of dissident voices.
The former ambassador sounded the alarm about the many media outlets that were either muzzled by putting them under the government’s supervision as “El Watan” or shut down as “Liberté” and “Radio M”. He went on to say that charity associations as “Caritas”, founded by the Catholic Church prior to 1962, were dissolved because “they are funded by foreign parties, meaning France”.
Based on these elements, Driencourt predicts that the 2024 Algerian presidential campaign will rely on the anti-France narrative to win the elections.
He added that the military leaders running Algeria are unscrupulous and will never seek true relations of cooperation with France, recalling that president Macron called the Algerian political and military regime a “worn out” system that re-wrote the country’s official history based on hatred for France.
He also noted that, few weeks later, Macron was in Algiers doing the opposite and echoing what the Algerian leaders wanted to hear about immigration and collective memory.
He concluded by saying that Algeria is not doing well as 45 million Algerians have one thing in mind: to leave the country.