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Algeria Gate: Algeria’s economy is showing strong resilience, with growth accelerating, the non-hydrocarbon sector expanding and the country’s fiscal and financial position gaining strength, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Fund also described Algeria’s short-term economic outlook as broadly favorable.

Following its 2026 Article IV consultations with Algeria, concluded on September 11th, the IMF estimated 3.9% economic growth in 2025, up from 3.7% in 2024, supported by a strategy focused on public investment.

The non-hydrocarbon economy grew 4.3% in 2025 and is projected to expand by 4% in 2026, confirming the continued diversification of economic activity.

The IMF expects overall growth to remain robust at 3.8% in 2026. Higher hydrocarbon prices are also expected to boost exports and budget revenues, helping Algeria rebuild its fiscal buffers.

Exports are projected to rise from 15.8% of GDP in 2025 to 19.3% in 2026, while imports are expected to fall from 21.9% to 18.5% of GDP.

The Fund also noted that Algeria’s budget deficit narrowed in 2025, helped by substantial one-off dividend payments from state-owned companies and the Bank of Algeria.

The IMF praised Algeria’s efforts to strengthen financial stability and inclusion, noting that banks remain liquid, profitable and well capitalized. It also highlighted measures to strengthen financial supervision, crisis and liquidity management, and the governance of public banks.

Finally, the IMF commended Algeria for its rapid removal from the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, describing it as an important step in strengthening the country’s financial framework.

Algeria Gate: Boualem Sansal is once again placing his time in prison in Algeria at the centre of current events. In his book “La Légende,” the writer presents his arrest in a particularly serious light, going so far as to speak of a form of “deportation” and to attribute an antisemitic dimension to it.

This claim nevertheless requires an essential distinction between the writer’s personal account and the judicial grounds for his arrest.

Sansal was not convicted by the Algerian courts for his religion or because he is Jewish. Arrested in November 2024, he was sentenced in March 2025 to five years in prison, notably for undermining national unity, following controversial statements concerning the borders of Algeria and Morocco. This sentence was later upheld on appeal. For his part, Sansal contested the proceedings and invoked his freedom of expression.

From judicial file to political narrative

It is therefore after the facts that Sansal gives his incarceration an interpretation linked to antisemitism. For an Algerian reader, the central question is simple: this interpretation must not be confused with what actually appears in the judicial file.

The case had moreover taken on a significant diplomatic dimension between Algiers and Paris. In November 2025, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune finally granted a pardon to the writer following an official request from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, presented on humanitarian grounds.

With “La Légende,” Boualem Sansal now offers his own reading of this period. But between a formula designed to strike minds and the facts established by the procedure, the difference remains fundamental: the publicly reported charges concerned his statements and national unity, not his religious affiliation.

Algeria Gate: The Consulate General of Algeria in New York is moving closer to the national community established in the United States by organising several consular sessions devoted to biometric passport applications. Mobile stations will be deployed between late October and mid-November 2026 in Illinois, Massachusetts and Florida.

According to a consulate statement relayed on 19 September, the first session is scheduled in Chicago, Illinois, on 29th, 30th and 31st October 2026. Consular teams will then travel to Boston, Massachusetts, on November 6th and 7th, before a third operation planned in Florida on November 13th and 14th 2026. Algerians residing in neighbouring states will also be able to benefit from these visits.

A mandatory step before travelling

These sessions will mainly allow Algerian nationals to have their photograph taken and fingerprints recorded — necessary steps for the issuance of a biometric passport.

The consulate nevertheless reminds applicants that those wishing to benefit from this operation must imperatively submit their passport application file before travelling. The announced deadline for sending files is set at October 15th 2026.

Passport applications may be accompanied, when necessary, by a request for renewal of consular registration or a first registration. The consulate’s normal procedure moreover provides that Algerian citizens residing permanently abroad must be registered with their consular representation before a passport is issued.

For applicants aged 12 and over, physical presence is required for the biometric formalities. The consulate’s official website specifies that children under 12 are exempt from personal appearance for fingerprinting.

Attention: no other consular services on site

The consulate also insists on an important point: these mobile sessions will be exclusively devoted to biometric operations linked to the passport. Agents will therefore not process visa applications, powers of attorney or other consular services on site.

Likewise, a national who presents themselves directly in Chicago, Boston or Florida without having previously submitted their file risks being unable to complete the fingerprinting.

This initiative aims to facilitate the procedures of Algerians who sometimes live several hundred or even several thousand kilometres from New York. The Consulate General’s jurisdiction currently covers 25 American states, including Illinois, Massachusetts and Florida.

With these mobile biometric stations, the nationals concerned will thus be able to complete the step requiring their physical presence without systematically having to travel to the consulate headquarters in New York.