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French-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal returned to France on Tuesday after spending a year in an Algerian prison, a development that has highlighted the already strained relationship between Paris and its former colony. The 81-year-old author had travelled from Germany, where he was receiving medical treatment following his release last week, which came after diplomatic discussions involving Algiers and Berlin.
Sansal’s work, which frequently warns against rising authoritarianism and the spread of Islamist ideology, has earned him strong support from the French right but made him a contentious figure among authorities in Algeria, where he was born. On his arrival in France, he was received by President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace. The presidency said Macron was “delighted” at Sansal’s release, describing him as a “great writer” whose dignity and resolve had been “exemplary.”
A committee of supporters that campaigned for his freedom expressed “deep emotion” at his return, adding that it was now up to Sansal to decide when and how he would speak publicly. Many of his backers viewed his imprisonment as politically driven, linked to ongoing tensions between Paris and Algiers over Western Sahara, where France supports Morocco’s claim in opposition to Algeria’s position.
Sansal had been sentenced in March to five years in prison on charges of undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity, after being arrested the previous November upon arrival from France. His comments to a far-right French media outlet in October 2024—claiming France had wrongly handed Moroccan land to Algeria during the colonial era—further inflamed the situation. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune pardoned him last week after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier appealed for clemency, citing Sansal’s fragile health.
Despite Sansal’s release, France remains concerned about the fate of Christophe Gleizes, a prominent French sports journalist still imprisoned in Algeria. Gleizes has been sentenced to seven years for “glorifying terrorism” after attempting to interview a banned group. The French presidency said it “fervently hopes” for his release and is actively working towards it, while Sansal’s support committee also called for his immediate freedom.
Relations between France and Algeria have long been marked by recurring political disputes and mutual suspicion. Analysts note that both countries continue to grapple with the unresolved tensions rooted in the 1954–62 war of independence and more than a century of French colonial rule.
