The French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Thursday that there is a high chance he will visit Algeria, hailing the north African country's release of writer Boualem Sansal as a glimmer of hope that relations between the two nations can be mended.
Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Wednesday pardoned the French-Algerian writer who was arrested a year ago and sentenced to five years in jail in March for undermining national unity. The case strained already difficult relations between Algeria and its colonial-era master France.
On Wednesday, Mr Nunez told France's BFM TV that President Emmanuel Macron had a call with Mr Tebboune to express his gratitude and was hoping to establish a dialogue on bilateral issues. "We need to restart this dialogue on security; it is important for the safety of our society," he said. "A dialogue that is certainly demanding, but dialogue nonetheless."
Mr Sansal, 81, landed in Berlin on Wednesday night after Germany mediated his release. He is under medical observation and it is not known when he will return to France, said French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux.
"France extends its gratitude to [German] President [Frank-Walter] Steinmeier and to all the partners who mobilised on our behalf," Mr Confavreux said. He added that Mr Sansal's wife would join him in Germany on Thursday evening.
"As for what they will decide to do, we don't know at this stage. It will be up to them to say how they see the coming days. We're not there yet," Mr Confavreux added.
Ties between France and Algeria have deteriorated since last year, when France recognised Morocco's sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which Morocco wants the international community to recognise as Moroccan.
Tensions increased after Algeria detained Mr Sansal last November. The long-time critic of the Algerian authorities had been living in France and denied the charge against him, saying he never intended to offend Algeria or state institutions.
The discord came to a head in February when an Algerian citizen who France had tried to repatriate was arrested over a knife attack in the city of Mulhouse in which one person was killed and three injured.
The French Interior Minister at the time, Bruno Retailleau, called for a review of migration and visa arrangements following Algeria's refusal to take back Algerian citizens who have been ordered to leave France.
"The tug-of-war strategy does not work," Mr Nunez said. "There have been no developments for the moment, but this is one of the issues that I will obviously raise with my counterpart."
