French parliament votes to terminate 1968 accord with Algeria

France’s National Assembly on Thursday, October 30, narrowly approved, by 185 votes to 184, a proposal submitted by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (Rassemblement National) to “denounce” the 1968 Franco-Algerian agreement.

The move marks the first time in history that a text from the far-right party has been adopted, sparking debate over its growing normalisation in French politics, Caliber.Az reports, citing POLITICO.

In a closely contested session, lawmakers voted in favour of the nonbinding resolution calling on the government to repeal a 1968 agreement with Algeria that eases Algerian immigration to France, while 184 deputies, mostly from the left, opposed it.

The initiative succeeded by a razor-thin margin, largely due to the backing of several right-wing and centrist MPs, and the absence of many lawmakers from President Emmanuel Macron’s party for reasons that remain unclear.

Although the resolution carries no legal force, the vote represents a symbolic triumph for Le Pen’s party, long excluded from parliamentary cooperation under the so-called cordon sanitaire, an informal rule discouraging collaboration with the far right.

“For the first time, a text presented by the National Rally […] has been adopted,” Le Pen declared following the vote, once again urging Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to revoke the Franco-Algerian accord.

The National Rally achieved this rare success by selecting a cause that resonated beyond its traditional base. The resolution also received support from 17 lawmakers of Horizons, the centre-right party led by former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe.

Previously, even Gabriel Attal, head of Macron’s Renaissance party, had advocated scrapping the 1968 agreement amid rising diplomatic tensions with Algiers. However, Attal was absent from Thursday’s session, and only 30 out of 92 Renaissance deputies voted against the measure.

Left-wing opposition groups swiftly condemned the result, accusing Attal’s party of enabling the far right to push through what they described as a “racist” motion, while granting the National Rally a powerful symbolic victory.

By Jeyhun Aghazada