Navigating Tensions: French Concerns over Algeria’s Military Expansion

The report suggests the hypothesis that Algerian military capabilities are sufficient to close the Strait of Gibraltar.

This came in a media report of the Defense and Armed Forces Committee of the French National Assembly, including interventions regarding French defense policy in the African continent, dated April 10, 2024.

The report mentioned hearing from Algerian-origin researcher Abdelnour Benantar that when it comes to security, the perception of threat is more important than its actual occurrence.

There is a concern about Algeria’s armament, especially its naval forces, which is gaining ground and expanding within French military circles and research centers.

The report mentioned that a well-known hypothesis has been raised, suggesting that Algeria could have the sufficient capacity to close the Strait of Gibraltar, through its naval forces, of course, as reported by the Algerian newspaper “El Chourouk.”

The concern over the armament of Algeria, especially its naval forces

Benantar noted in this regard that the danger lies in returning to the discussion about the thesis of the threat coming from the south, meaning from the countries of the southern shore of the Mediterranean towards the countries of the northern shore, a discussion dating back to the 1990s, prompting European countries and NATO to initiate dialogues with countries of the southern shore to dispel this threat.

The report considered French relations with the countries of the Arab Maghreb to be extremely complex and cannot be addressed from a single perspective.

It pointed out that, for example, it is very difficult to separate defense and security aspects from the fluctuations in French-Algerian political relations, as evidenced by the opening of Algerian airspace to the French armed forces, then its closure, and then reopening.

The report also discussed a leadership race among three African countries: Algeria, South Africa, and Nigeria, regarding UN peacekeeping operations in the African continent, amid a heated debate between supporters of Africanizing these operations by increasing the participation of African units under UN supervision and those who do not want to limit it to African military units only but want the entire operation to be managed by Africans themselves.

The report pointed out that studying Franco-Algerian relations shows that the shared memory between the two countries refuses to heal, and memories of the past still impose themselves sixty years after Algeria’s independence, amid mutual accusations.