The military relations between Algeria and France
Algeria, Analysis, 10/18/1997

French-Algerian relations are full of contradictions; France will never forget its tragic history, its defeat in Algeria and its dream of creating a French Algeria, while Algeria will not forget the malicious history of French colonization and the deep injuries it caused in Algerian awareness.

In spite of these contradictions, the two countries have had a strange kind of relation since Algeria's independence. It is like the relation between the executioner and victim; it is a love-hate relationship. Within this context there is a military cooperation between France and Algeria at the present time.

Since Algeria's independence on 3 July 1962, the degree of cooperation between the two countries varied according to the tendencies of the ruling officials. On April 13, 1963, France reached an agreement with Algeria through which France offered military and medical assistance to Algeria in addition to training the Algerian army and providing it with weaponry.

During the rule of the Algerian President Bin Bila the two countries' relations were limited, but after the coup d'etat of Hawary Bu Madian the relations improved substantially. Bu Madian was eager to rebuild Algeria's army and the relations reached their peak between 1968 and 1969. About 400 Algerian officers went to France for training while 350 French officers were in Algeria to help the Algerian army. France also offered of warplanes to Algeria.

But the international developments in the Middle East and the game of interests forced Bu Madian to form an alliance with the Soviet Union so as to balance the US presence in the region. Thus Algeria depended on the Soviet Union for its military supplies, which affected Algerian-French relations.

During the rule of President Al Shazly Bin Gedid, it was clear that the new regime had a different view. The new president decided to keep a distance from the Soviet Union while it revived its relations with France. Bin Gadid reactivated a series of agreements, especially in the field of military cooperation.

Bin Gadid tried to build an air and sea defense system in cooperation with the French company "Thompson," which made many studies of the project which aimed to detect and obstruct any strange body in the sea and air spaces. Training missions were sent to France again. But financial difficulties and the deterioration of the Algerian currency due to the collapse of oil prices in the 1980s stopped the implementation of the project.

Though there has been military cooperation between France and Algeria, this cooperation has been always minimal and symbolic, as Algeria depended on the eastern bloc for its armament, particularly China and the Soviet Union.

The two countries had strong cooperation in the field of intelligence as they exchanged information and experiences till the kidnapping operation of the French Airbus in the airport of Algiers, which created tensions between the intelligence services of the two countries. Now, Algerian military men are doubtful about the activities of Algerian immigrants in France, despite the efforts of the French security forces in combating them. On the other hand, the French authorities do not trust government information of the current crisis in Algeria.

The series of explosions that wracked Paris in 1995 and Algeria's accusations against Algerian Islamist immigrants in France of being involved in the current internal crisis pushed France to keep its distance from Algeria. However, everything indicates that the French capital continues to offer military assistance to Algeria to face its internal crisis. This assistance reflects France's hopes that the democratic progress during the rule of President Zeroual will prevail over the attempts of the Islamists to control the country.

Previous Stories:
  Algeria: We do not need mediation   (10/15/1997)
  Positive developments in the Algerian crisis   (10/2/1997)
  50 terrorists killed by Algerian forces; French mull aid for Algerian truce   (9/29/1997)

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