France Returns Ambassador Stéphane Romatet to Algeria as Emmanuel Macron Sends Alice Rufo to Sétif

France announced it would return its ambassador to Algeria and send a senior envoy to ceremonies marking a colonial-era massacre in its former colony to ease frayed relations, the French presidency said on Friday, May 8.

“The Élysée Palace announced on Friday the resumption of the French ambassador to Algeria, Stéphane Romatet, of his duties, in conjunction with an official visit by France's Minister of the Armed Forces, Alice Rovo, to Algiers”

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French Deputy Armed Forces Minister Alice Rufo will attend ceremonies in Sétif, Algeria, marking the 1945 violent put-down of pro-democracy protesters by French troops, the Elysée said in a statement.

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She will be accompanied by Ambassador Stéphane Romatet, who will resume his duties more than a year after having been recalled from his post, the statement said.

The move by French President Emmanuel Macron was described by the Elysée as reflecting his determination to address relations between France and Algeria with honesty and to restore an effective dialogue.

The visit is also framed as part of commemorations tied to May 8, 1945, in Sétif, where French colonial authorities carried out a violent crackdown on pro-independence demonstrations, resulting in large numbers of casualties.

The return of Ambassador Stéphane Romatet is presented as part of a gradual effort to restore ties, with the Élysée saying Macron aims to restore “effective dialogue” with Algeria.

Paris also continues to press for progress in the case of French journalist Christophe Gleizes, who remains in custody in Algeria and is seeking a presidential pardon.

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TF1 Info said Macron wants to give priority to the return to France of journalist Christophe Gleizes as Alice Rufo arrived in Algeria on Friday, May 8, to commemorate the massacres in Sétif on May 8, 1945.

Reporters Without Borders director Thibaud Bruttin told AFP that the steps “give hope and confidence for a forthcoming resolution to the human tragedy endured by Christophe Gleizes and his family,” tying the diplomatic thaw to the journalist’s fate.

In France, the diplomatic context is also described as having deteriorated since 2024, when Paris officially backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, where Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front.

The French presidency said the ambassador’s return and the ministerial visit are intended to restore an effective dialogue and strengthen channels of communication between the two countries.

“PARIS: Paris will return its ambassador to Algeria and send a senior envoy to ceremonies marking a colonial-era massacre in its former colony to improve frayed relations, the French presidency said on Friday”

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The Elysée statement said the ambassador will work on all aspects of bilateral cooperation “with a priority focus on the return to France of our compatriot, Mr. Christophe Gleizes,” linking the next phase of diplomacy to the journalist’s case.

Le Monde reported that the move reflects Macron’s determination to address relations between France and Algeria with honesty while respecting all the memories connected to them, as Rufo and Romatet attend ceremonies in Sétif.

Atalayar described the return as ending more than a year of diplomatic absence but not resolving the crisis, saying the Élysée Palace acknowledged the aim now is to “restore effective dialogue,” reflecting how channels between the two governments had become virtually blocked.

In the same broader framing of bilateral tensions, the sources tie the diplomatic shift to the commemorations of May 8, 1945, and to consular and custody-related issues that Paris seeks to address as it resumes full diplomatic presence in Algeria.