Algeria's decision to expel twelve French civil servants from its territory in response to legal proceedings in France is "regrettable", French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France 2 television, quoted by Agence France-Presse.
It "will not go without consequences", he warned.
"If Algeria decides to increase tensions, we will respond with the greatest possible firmness", Barrot added, stressing that France would have "no other choice but to take such measures". At the same time, he defended Interior Minister Bruno Retayo.
According to him, Retayo "has nothing to do with this legal case" that led to the detention of the Algerian consular employee, the French foreign minister stressed.
Algerian authorities have asked 12 French civil servants posted in Algeria to leave the country, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced yesterday, as quoted by Agence France-Presse.
On Friday, three men, including one working at one of Algeria's consulates in France, were charged in Paris with arrest, kidnapping and illegal detention, the French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office announced.
In this case, which concerns Amir Bouhors, an opponent of the Algerian authorities and an influencer nicknamed Amir De Zet, the three men have also been charged with criminal terrorist association. They are being held in custody. The Algerian Foreign Ministry warned Paris on Saturday evening that "this new unacceptable and indescribable development will cause great damage to Algerian-French relations."
These comments contrast with the "new stage" announced last week by French Foreign Minister Barrot in relations between Paris and Algeria after talks with his counterpart Ahmed Attaf and, in particular, with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. A few days earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron and his Algerian counterpart ended a rare crisis that had brought the two countries to the brink of severing diplomatic relations, AFP noted.