ALGIERS-France’s xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist factions are demanding punitive action against Algeria. The French far-right, along with their sympathizers in the French Government, are trying to outdo each other in proposing sanctions they claim will force Algeria to fall in line.
It’s become like a contest to see who can propose the harshest sanction, with everyone trying to outdo each other in suggesting the most severe, deterrent, and dramatic measures against our country. Among all these proposals, the one concerning a so-called development aid is undoubtedly the one that catches attention and legitimately deserves special treatment.
There’s a part of France that still can’t swallow the reality of a sovereign and independent Algeria, it haunts their conscience day and night, robbing them of peace. This part of France rehashes misleading and worn-out statements, it is easily forgetful, it repeats them even though they will, naturally and unsurprisingly, lead to the same outcomes.”
What’s really going on here? Back in 1994, under circumstances similar to today’s French-Algerian relations, the same vindictive and hostile France proposed to cut off what it misleadingly called development aid to Algeria.
But this so-called aid was nothing more than a figment of France’s imagination, part of its fantasy of an Algeria that remained dependent yet ungrateful. The truth is, these were « supplier credits » that helped French companies preserve their share of the Algerian market and force Algeria to remain in France’s orbit. Algeria had then taken the initiative and officially announced that it was definitively renouncing this French export financing mechanism, falsely presented as aid to Algeria.
History is repeating itself today, along with France’s same old mistakes. Now, just as before, there is no French development aid to Algeria. This aid is completely fictional and has absolutely no basis in Algeria’s economic reality.
In the Algerian economy, there are French exports, which amounted to USD3.2 billion in 2023, and French investments totaling USD2.5 billion, a figure that pales in comparison to investments from major foreign partners like the United States of America, Turkey, Italy, Qatar, the Sultanate of Oman, Egypt, and many other friendly countries. Finally, in the Algerian economy, there is the excessive benefit of Algerian public procurement amounting to billions of dollars, which has brought prosperity to many French companies and has saved some of the most prestigious ones from announced bankruptcies.
This is the reality of French involvement in the Algerian economy. These are the undeniable, irrefutable, and plain facts. Everything else is nothing but shameless deception and wishful thinking.
Beyond these facts, there are crumbs that one can, very generously, consider as related to public development aid. What is the real share of these crumbs in the Algerian-French economic relationship?
According to the European Commission statistics for 2022, the total amount of this aid amounts to nearly 130 million euros. This figure clearly exposes the fantasy of the 800 million euros that’s been put forward by the French right-wing circles.
It’s worth noting that these are European statistics based on French data. From Algeria’s perspective, the estimated value of development aid received from France is much lower – a mere five (5) million euros. Even this modest amount is strictly tied to bilateral cooperation projects, whose classification under the category of public development aid is debatable and not automatically granted.
But there is something even more important: the allocation and use of these funds. Here too, the statistics provided to us by the European Commission are enlightening in more ways than one. Taking 2022 as the reference year again, there are two undeniable facts:
The first fact is that 80% of the so-called annual aid provided by France to Algeria doesn’t even leave the French territory. This portion, amounting to over 106 million euros, goes directly to French schools and universities to incentivize these establishments to accept Algerian students. Naturally, the fields of study are selected to align with France’s priorities and economic needs.
The second fact is linked to the remaining 20% of this so-called development aid to Algeria being directed towards financing actions that primarily serve France’s interests in Algeria. These actions include, among others, the promotion of French language and culture, support for French NGOs authorized to operate in Algeria, as well as the consolidation of France’s economic presence in our country. In other words, only crumbs remain for the technical sectors that are supposed to be the main beneficiaries of these programs.
In light of these facts, the conclusion is inescapable: France’s so-called public development aid to Algeria is nothing more than a transfer of funds from France, to France, and for France’s benefit. The Algerian State gains absolutely nothing from it, as it is not involved in either the design of this aid, its direction, or even less in its implementation on the ground.
It must thus be noted that there is, in reality, no French public development aid to Algeria in the generally accepted sense of the term. Instead, we’re witnessing an elaborate illusion designed to portray France as a nation fulfilling its international obligations. It’s also a shameful charade meant to paint Algeria as a country dependent on France’s supposedly altruistic aid.
And finally, there is a misuse of language aimed at covering up, rather poorly than well, a relentless effort that tries, in vain, to disturb Algeria’s determined progress towards fulfilling its destiny.
In the end, one is tempted to spare that part of France, which believes it still has some unfinished business with Algeria, from tiring itself out searching for a way to end France’s supposed development aid to Algeria. How to help them, if not by assuring them that if such aid exists, Algeria is ready to willingly and gladly renounce it.
