Algeria on Saturday summoned the French embassy’s charge d’affaires after a state television broadcast ignited diplomatic anger and sharpened already fragile relations.
The Foreign Ministry said France 2 aired a programme it called falsely documentary, weaving what Algiers described as lies, fabrications, and open slander.
The ministry summoned the diplomat to protest what it labelled unacceptable insults and unjustified provocations broadcast to French audiences this week.
The report alleged Algerian authorities orchestrated an attempted abduction of an Algerian blogger living in France, whom Algiers classifies as a terrorist.
Algerian officials said such accusations struck like sparks on dry tinder, threatening to inflame an already tense bilateral climate.
They argued the programme could not have aired without complicity, or at least approval, from the French public authority overseeing the channel.
The statement also pointed to the French embassy’s involvement and the ambassador’s promotion of the broadcast as evidence of official backing.
French authorities have not commented publicly, leaving the accusations echoing unanswered across the Mediterranean political stage.
Algiers condemned the broadcast and rejected what it called unacceptable accusations against the state and its institutions.
It also criticised the ambassador’s alleged involvement, saying it conflicted with diplomatic duties under international norms and conventions.
Relations have strained in recent months, with both countries downgrading diplomatic representation after France recognised Morocco’s Western Sahara proposal in July.
Morocco seeks broad autonomy under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, demands a self-determination referendum.
