France and Algeria Engage in Tit-for-Tat Diplomatic Expulsions Amid Rising Tensions

France announced it will expel 12 Algerian diplomatic and consular staff members after Algeria ordered 12 French diplomats to leave within 48 hours. The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs noted that Algeria's move, if carried out, would mark the first expulsion of French diplomats from the country since its independence in 1962. This escalation follows the indictment of three Algerian nationals in France, including a consular official, over the alleged kidnapping of a government critic in Paris last year. The French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that the expulsions were directly linked to the arrests.