French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to Morocco is being closely watched in Algeria, where his support for Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara has been widely criticised.
Macron's trip – which saw France and Morocco sign deals worth an estimated €10 billion – has made clear which country is Paris's preferred partner in North Africa.
That risks riling Algeria, which cut its diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021.
In July this year, the Algerian government recalled its ambassador from Paris after Macron publicly backed Morocco's claim to Western Sahara.
This week, the French president reiterated his support directly to King Mohammed VI on Moroccan soil.
Algerian journalist Adlene Meddi told RFI that the intervention was likely to worsen relations between Paris and Algiers.
"France is sacrificing its relations with Algeria in a fairly brutal and spectacular manner," he said, "and we are going to enter a new phase of crisis that will last much longer than other crises."
'Strategic interests'
The Algerian-backed Polisario Front has campaigned for decades for the independence of Western Sahara, which was occupied by Spain until 1975.
Morocco sought to lay claim to it the same year.
The United Nations considers Western Sahara a "non-self-governing territory" and has had a peacekeeping mission there since 1991 with the aim of organising a referendum on the territory's future.
But Morocco has repeatedly rejected any vote in which independence is an option.
By backing Moroccan sovereignty, Macron "deliberately ignores the aspirations of the Sahrawi people", Khalil Abdelmalek, an Algerian student of political sociology," told RFI.
"French support for Morocco reinforces the image of France as a state ready to sacrifice the principles of justice for its strategic interests," he argued.
France, Morocco sign deals worth €10bn on energy, infrastructure
Shifting alliances
Seeking to break away from French influence and isolate Morocco in the broader Arab world, Algeria is looking to build new alliances.
Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune travelled to Egypt this week for his first foreign trip after his re-election last September.
At a joint press conference on Monday, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that Egyptian companies are ready to work on infrastructure and urban development projects in Algeria. Investments will also take place in the energy sector.
After two days in Cairo, Tebboune travelled to Oman for a three-day state visit.
Also in Algeria's sights as privileged partners are Libya and Sudan, countries that are not close to Paris or Rabat.
Experts estimate that Paris has little to gain by neglecting Algeria, as it remains an essential partner in terms of human resources, migration and regional politics.
Algerians also form the largest diaspora living in France, with over 1,600,000 people, ahead of Moroccans (1,060,000) and Portuguese (640,000).
