The Harkis, Muslim Algerians who served in the French military between 1954 and 1962, were widely viewed as traitors in post-independence Algeria and often targeted for reprisals. [Getty]
Algeria is weighing a plan to scale back the French embassy’s presence in Algiers by reclaiming most of its land, in the newest escalation of what seems like a never-ending diplomatic spat.
According to several Algerian media outlets, citing unnamed official sources, the government is mulling over reducing the French embassy’s footprint in the Hydra district from 15 hectares to four.
The wooded grounds, known as “Parc Peltzer,” have housed French diplomatic services since Algeria gained independence in 1962, and include the chancery, military mission, cultural and economic sections, and staff residences.
French authorities have not commented on the reports, but the potential move comes amid diplomatic friction, and notably just days after France expanded its compensation programme to include the Harkis community—Algerians who fought alongside French forces during Algeria’s war of independence.
On Tuesday, France’s reparations commission approved 37 new sites linked to the mistreatment of Harkis and their families, allowing an estimated 6,000 additional claimants to seek compensation.
The newly recognised locations include former camps and housing complexes where Harki families were housed in poor conditions after arriving in France. Since the programme was launched in 2022, France has paid nearly $188 million to over 27,000 people.
However, groups such as “Justice for Harkis” argue that thousands remain excluded from the scheme.
Families continue to seek answers about the fate of relatives who died in the Rivesaltes camp in southern France.
Excavations last year uncovered four boxes of bones, likely the remains of Harkis reburied in 1986 without their families’ knowledge. The government has said it cannot confirm their identities without further investigation.
Close-to-government media in Algeria denounced the expanded compensation by France as “a new provocation to Algeria and Algerians.”
The Harkis, Muslim Algerians who served in the French military between 1954 and 1962, were widely viewed as traitors in post-independence Algeria and often targeted for reprisals. While tens of thousands fled to France, many were confined to remote camps and left in degrading conditions for years.
Since taking office, President Emmanuel Macron has tried to chart a new course in Franco-Algerian relations. He has acknowledged colonisation as a “crime against humanity” and sought symbolic gestures of reconciliation.
Yet, his approach, described by critics as a policy of “quand même“, or “nonetheless”, has repeatedly stopped short of a full apology.
In recent months, Algeria has grown increasingly assertive in challenging French policies, from migration restrictions to diplomatic expulsions.
On 14 April, Algeria expelled 12 French officials, citing the arrest of an Algerian consular staffer in a kidnapping case. France responded the next day by expelling 12 Algerian diplomats.
The incident follows months of fraying ties, particularly since France shifted its position last summer to support Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, a disputed territory claimed by the separatist Polisario Front, which is backed by Algeria.
The land occupied by the French embassy in Algiers has long been a sensitive issue.
Parc Peltzer’s legal status, tied to post-independence agreements, remains ambiguous, and any effort to reclaim the land would likely be viewed in Paris as a direct challenge to France’s officials.
