Paris claims Algeria has imposed new entry rules for French officials in violation of a decade-old bilateral agreement

France will expel Algerian diplomats in response to the North African country's decision to remove more than a dozen French officials, Paris announced on Wednesday.

Algerian state news agency APS reported on Sunday that a senior French embassy official had been notified by authorities of the expulsion of 15 French diplomatic staff, citing Paris' alleged failure to follow established protocols in their appointments.

In response, the French Foreign Ministry said it had summoned a senior Algerian diplomat on Tuesday to protest the "unilateral decision" by Algiers to impose new entry conditions on French officials holding diplomatic or service passports. It did not specify the number of employees facing removal from the African country.

The move by the former French colony violates a 2013 bilateral agreement, the ministry claimed in astatement.

"The charge d'affaires was informed that France will take the same measures with regard to Algeria, in strict reciprocity. France reserves the right to take additional measures as the situation develops," it added.

Already fragile relations between Algeria and France have been beset by a series of diplomatic flare-ups in recent months. In April, both countriesexpelled12 diplomats in a tit-for-tat dispute triggered by the arrest of an Algerian official in France, prompting Paris to recall its ambassador.

France's recent backing of Morocco's stance on the disputed Western Sahara - a territory Algeria has long supported in its push for independence - has further strained relations between Paris and Algiers.

In a bid to defuse mounting tensions, French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune held a phone call in late March, pledging to keep dialogue open. Just days later, on April 6, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot visited Algiers for talks on improving mobility between the two countries and strengthening what Paris described as "effective and constructive" consular cooperation.

However, on Wednesday, Barrot declared that ties between the two countries were now "totally blocked," denouncing the latest move by the Algerian government as "unjustified and unjustifiable."

(RT.com)