11.11.11 Algeria Politics and Security Juppé's 'pay-back' time: Rachad Movement opens office in Paris

France's Foreign Minister Alain Juppé knows head of DRS Mohammed Mediène only too well, and has old scores to settle. Alliot-Marie's replacement by Juppé at the end of February (2011) was a major shock for the DRS and it partly explains Algeria's vilification of both NATO and France during the Libyan revolution.

Juppé's return to office was soon felt in Algiers. When the engine and chassis markings of Colonel Mu'ammar Qadhafi military vehicles bombed by NATO were discovered by French engineers in Benghazi, it was Juppé who had the pleasure of relaying the news to its Algerian counterpart and confirming that the French Defence Ministry (Juppé had previously been Minister of Defence) had identified the vehicles as former French military stock sold to the Algerian army. The evidence was passed on to the US and other NATO members. Algeria's game in Libya was up.

Since then, Juppé has resolved most of the damages to foreign relations done by his predecessors. He has established particularly good links with the Ennahda in Tunisia, the new political forces in Egypt, the National Transitional Council (NTC) and the emerging key political personages in Libya.

The most significant move by France has been to allow the Rachad Movement to open an office in Paris. France has traditionally been opposed to being seen, at least publicly, to allow Algerian opposition parties and movements to operate on their soil. This decision is a major shift in French policy and one which is being regarded in Algiers with extreme anxiety. Rachad is the opposition movement that Algeria's rulers most fear. Allowing it to open an office in France presents the Algerian regime with a new and very serious problem.

As far as Juppé is concerned, this is now 'pay-back' time. And Mediène and the DRS know it.

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© 2011 Menas Associates