France announces retaliatory expulsion of Algerian diplomats

By Ilayda Cakirtekin

ISTANBUL (AA) – France announced on Wednesday the expulsion of new Algerian diplomats in retaliation for the expulsion of the French Embassy employees from Algeria.

“Our response is immediate, firm, and strictly proportionate at this stage, with the same demand that is, the return to Algeria of all agents holding diplomatic passports who do not currently have a visa,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said during an interview with broadcaster BFM TV.

Barrot is yet to specify the number of expelled agents.

The decision came after the Algerian Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned the French charge d'affaires in Algiers and ordered the immediate expulsion of 15 French embassy employees over "serious breaches" of diplomatic protocol.