French Prime Minister François Bayrou threatened on Wednesday to cancel a longstanding immigration agreement with Algeria following a deadly knife attack in Mulhouse, in which the main suspect is of Algerian origin.
The case has deepened tensions between France and its former colony, adding to a series of diplomatic disputes.
Bayrou’s comments came after a cabinet meeting days after Saturday’s attack, which left one person dead and several others wounded.
Prosecutors said that the suspect, a 37-year-old Algerian-born man, was on France’s terrorism watchlist and had been issued multiple deportation orders.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said France had tried to expel the man several times, but Algeria refused to accept him.
“The victims we saw in Mulhouse this weekend are the direct victims of the refusal to apply these agreements,” Bayrou said, referring to the 1968 accords that grant Algerians preferential immigration status in France.
According to Bayrou, French authorities had attempted to hand over the suspect to Algeria 14 times, but each request was denied.
He warned that France would give Algeria one to six weeks to address the issue, after which terminating the agreements would be the only possible outcome.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced travel restrictions on Algerian dignitaries, a move denounced by Algeria as a provocation. The measures, which affect several hundred people, have reportedly been in place for weeks.
Tensions between Paris and Algeria have been mounting on multiple fronts.
Bayrou also expressed great concern for the health of French-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal, who is imprisoned in Algeria on national security charges.
Meanwhile, Algeria’s senate suspended relations with its French counterpart in response to a visit by French Senate President Gérard Larcher to Western Sahara—a disputed territory controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.
