French intelligence plot to destabilize Algeria Recruitment, terrorist attacks exposed in documentary

The relations within the Algeria-Morocco-France triangle seem to have reached a point of no return. The two North African countries are on the brink of a new war over the issue of Western Sahara, with the neighbouring states taking opposing positions on the matter. Adding fuel to the fire is Macron’s France, which has sided with Rabat in the dispute between its two former colonies.

On July 30, Macron sent a letter to King Mohammed VI of Morocco on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his ascension to the throne, in which he outlined France's new position on the Western Sahara issue. Macron stated that the present and future of Western Sahara should be considered within the context of Morocco's sovereignty. “France now considers that the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara is the only basis for achieving a just, lasting, and negotiated political solution in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions,” Macron noted in the letter. Prior to this letter, France had stated that the plan required serious discussions and had not used the term “Moroccan sovereignty.”

Algeria’s response to Macron’s provocation was swift – the country’s ambassador, Said Moussi, was immediately recalled from Paris. It was announced that the embassy would be headed by a temporary chargé d'affaires. The ongoing cold relations between Algeria and France worsened in December of this year due to France’s destructive actions. In particular, it was revealed that French spies had attempted to recruit former terrorists in order to destabilize the situation in Algeria.

According to the Algerian news agency APS, on December 7, a documentary titled "The Failure of the Conspiracy: Algerian Eagles of Victory" aired on two Algerian state television channels – EPTV and AL24. The documentary featured the confessions of 35-year-old Mohamed Amin Aïssaoui. According to him, the French Directorate General for External Security (DGSE) had recruited him to form armed groups in Algeria. Aïssaoui explained that in 2013, he lived in France, then joined ISIS, was wounded, and later arrested in Türkiye. Afterwards, he was repatriated to Algeria and remained in prison until 2019. 

In 2022, he was contacted by the French company Artemis, which specializes in "countering radicalization." As noted in the documentary, this questionable company is led by an advisor to former French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. In April 2023, Algerian intelligence services recorded the first physical meeting between Aïssaoui and a representative of Artemis in the Algerian capital. The Artemis representative, who identified himself as Ivan, was actually an agent of the French Directorate General for External Security working undercover as the "first secretary of the French embassy."

At the initial stage, Aïssaoui was asked for information about radical Islamists in the Tipaza region and migrants passing through there. The French Directorate General for External Security (DGSE) intended to send him to Niger to join a local armed group, offering him 50,000 euros for his services. However, these plans were disrupted by the coup in Niger in July 2023. Following that, Aïssaoui was tasked with getting closer to radical Islamists in Algeria.

Meanwhile, Algeria’s intelligence services were already aware of the French plans. Relevant Algerian authorities created fake lists and passed them to the French side through Aïssaoui. The French intelligence services also planned to carry out terrorist attacks in Algeria.

Following the airing of the documentary "The Failure of the Conspiracy: Algerian Eagles of Victory" on December 12, the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the French ambassador, Stéphane Romatet, and issued a strong protest from Algeria's highest leadership regarding France's numerous hostile actions and provocations against the country. During the meeting, the Algerian side stated that all these destructive actions were orchestrated by the French Directorate General for External Security (DGSE), which seeks to destabilize Algeria’s state institutions and undermine the situation in the country. The Algerian side demanded that France cease these actions, warning that, otherwise, Algeria would take retaliatory measures.