Macron visits Algeria to relaunch their relationship at a critical moment for the Maghreb

• Maghreb Italy lives a 'honeymoon' in North Africa in the midst of a storm with Spain

this Thursday

, with which he wants to promote a refoundation of bilateral relations.

The trip is very timely, with the region immersed in a critical moment due to the strong tensions between Algeria and Morocco over Western Sahara, which have affected Spain, and the energy crisis in the heat of the war in Ukraine, which has placed Algiers as a key gas supplier for Europe.

The Algerian president, Abdelmayid Tebune, has received Macron at the foot of the ladder as soon as his plane landed, between national anthems and military fanfares.

Tonight he hosts a

in his honor.

The French president is accompanied by a large delegation of more than 90 people, including seven ministers, businessmen and prominent figures of culture and society.

, Haïm Korsia, the son of Jews born in Algeria, who had to give up the trip at the last minute after testing positive for Covid,

was highly anticipated due to its symbolism .

It is the second visit to Algiers by Macron, who was already in the country in December 2017.

The rapprochement between Paris and Algiers comes at a time when the ties between the North African capital and Madrid are fraying as a result of the change in position of the Government of Pedro Sánchez with respect to Western Sahara.

The Spanish president positioned himself in March on the side of Morocco's theses, which proposes autonomy for the territory under his occupation.

Sánchez described this initiative as "the most serious, realistic and credible basis for resolving the dispute."

The Copernican turn of Moncloa broke with the traditional support for the resolution of the conflict within the framework of the United Nations, which considers Western Sahara as a

pending decolonization and contemplates the right of the Saharawis to decide on their future in a referendum.

After the applause from Rabat came the slap in the face from Algiers, the main supporter of the Saharawi cause, which immediately called its ambassador in Madrid for consultations and reviewed the gas contracts with the Peninsula.

Faced with expectations that the Elysee would try to mediate between Spain and Algeria, the French Presidency specified that it is not working "in any particular summit or initiative on this issue," according to the Efe news agency.

Although of course it was in favor of Algeria and Spain settling their differences,

as a basis for negotiation for a solution to the Western Sahara issue, "a conflict that has lasted too long" .

Asked this Thursday, the Spanish Minister of the Presidency,

, has indicated in Paris that the Government "does not need" this type of mediation.

"We can guarantee that we are looking for the best possible relationship with Algeria," he declared.

Historical memory

But the points of friction between Paris and Algiers are more noticeable on other issues.

Macron wants to take the opportunity to relaunch Franco-Algerian relations, marked by

.

In the last year, the rope has been tightened by historical memory, a wound that still hurts in Algiers.

The French president himself questioned in the fall of 2021 the existence of Algeria before the colonial occupation, which lasted for 132 years, and went so far as to describe the Algerian regime as a "political-military system" that still exploits "the income of memory "of the years of the war against France.

Algiers accused Macron of fomenting "hatred of France", recalled his ambassador to Paris and banned French military planes from flying over its airspace.

During his re-election campaign, Macron made a gesture that calmed Algiers and apologized for the

committed by the French colonization.

That is why one of Macron's first visits to Algiers will be to "pay tribute to the martyrs", paying his respects at the Memorial that crowns the capital with the aim of appeasing resentment.

Among the priorities is also getting the North African country to accept the

for being in an irregular situation in France or having been convicted of crimes.

In return, Paris has already been opening its hand in granting visas, 75,000 in the first months of 2022, according to Efe, after having used this resource as a measure of pressure towards its Mediterranean neighbor.

The gas in the background

Although the Elysee assures that "it is not among its priorities" on this trip, one of the objectives is the signing of large gas supply contracts.

Not in vain among the components of the French delegation is Catherine McGregor, the CEO of

.

Algeria, one of the main natural gas producing and exporting countries in the world, has intensified its contacts with Italy in this sector and has signed contracts under which it will sell three times as much as Spain, displacing it as the main European partner.

Since the closure of the GME gas pipeline, which ran from the Algerian desert to Spain via Morocco, last October, and especially as a result of the diplomatic crisis, Algeria has been reducing its commercial relationship with Spanish companies.

Currently, the oil republic supplies gas to Spain through the Medgaz pipeline and by methane tankers.

Algeria was the main supplier of gas to the Peninsula until the bilateral scuffle broke out in March.

Currently, a quarter of the total hydrocarbons that Spain buys are from Algeria.

Tebune and Macron's agenda also includes the situation in Mali, after the withdrawal of French troops and the growing Russian influence in the African nation.

"Given the risk of instability in the Maghreb, the conflicts in the Sahel and the war in Ukraine, improving relations between France and Algeria is a political necessity," estimates Algerian political scientist

.

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