Presidential Palace: The President hosts the French Minister of Justice Copy link

Algeria News Portal:To combat organized crime and drug trafficking, Algerian Army security services in Ouargla cooperated with customs officials to break up a gang of organized criminals involved in the illegal drug trafficking of psychotropic substances, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense of Algeria.

🛑وزارة الدفاع الجزائرية 🇩🇿بيان: محاربة الجريمة المنظمة / تفكيك نشاط شبكة إجرامية منظمة بالناحية العسكرية الرابعة.

تمكنت ليلة أمس 17 ماي 2026، فرق مصالح أمن الجيش بورقلة بالتنسيق مع مصالح الجمارك، من تفكيك نشاط شبكة إجرامية منظمة مختصة في الإتجار غير المشروع بالمؤثرات العقلية.… pic.twitter.com/twwagWL21U

— بوابة الجزائر – Algeria Gate (@algatedz) May 18, 2026

The statement said the operation led to the arrest of one person and the seizure of a semi-trailer truck containing a large number of hallucinogenic tablets. This truck was loaded with 658,462 tablets of the 300mg pregabalin type, a day scope, and a mobile phone.

The operation’s success proves how alert and prepared the units of the People’s National Army are in dealing with such threats that endanger the safety and security of the people.

Algeria News Portal: Lotfi Boujemaa, Algeria’s Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, welcomed Gérald Darmanin, Keeper of the Seals and Minister of Justice of the French Republic, and his delegation at the Ministry of Justice. Senior officials at the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Foreign Affairs were also in attendance, said the Algerian Ministry of Justice.

يحدث الٱن: وزير العدل الجزائري 🇩🇿 #لطفي_بوجمعة يجري مباحثات مع نظيره الفرنسي 🇫🇷 #جيرالد_دارمانان بمقر وزارة العدل pic.twitter.com/0a7N57km7I

— بوابة الجزائر – Algeria Gate (@algatedz) May 18, 2026

According to this source, “bilateral talks took place with delegations from both countries. During these talks, the current status of bilateral cooperation between the two Ministries of Justice in the legal and judicial domains was discussed, as well as how to strengthen it.”

The same source added that these bilateral talks were followed later that same day by a working session of the judges of the visiting minister and their Algerian counterparts to examine bilateral judicial cooperation issues.

The French Minister of Justice’s trip to Algeria hinges on talks involving what the French Ministry of Justice calls “delicate” subjects. They characterize the trip as beginning a new phase of Paris-Algiers judicial negotiations.

The same source states that these talks will center on a number of key concerns, notably, the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking, judicial cooperation in the global war on terrorism, the combating of cross-border economic and financial crimes, and the take on unresolved cases of “dirty money.”

Le ministre de la Justice, garde des Sceaux, #Lotfi_Boudjemaa, a reçu à #Alger 🇩🇿, son homologue français 🇫🇷 , #Gérald_Darmanin.

Le ministre français de la Justice effectue une visite de travail en #Algérie.
L’audience s’est déroulée au siège du ministère de la Justice. pic.twitter.com/SoD4REvJqm

— بوابة الجزائر – Algeria Gate (@algatedz) May 18, 2026

Algeria News Portal:French Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin arrived in Algeria alongside a group of judges, and was greeted at Houari Boumediene International Airport by the Algerian Minister of Justice, Lotfi Boujemaa.

🛑 Le ministre français de la Justice, Gérald Darmanin🇫🇷, est arrivé en #Algérie🇩🇿 accompagné de plusieurs magistrats. Il a été accueilli à l’aéroport international d’Alger par son homologue algérien, Lotfi Boudjemaa, ministre de la Justice et garde des Sceaux.
🛑Selon le… pic.twitter.com/0c6IqwgkUO

— بوابة الجزائر – Algeria Gate (@algatedz) May 17, 2026

According to the French Ministry of Justice, the French Minister of Justice’s itinerary is of considerable importance to Algeria and includes conversations about judicial cooperation among the various French and Algerian authorities, in addition to discussions about other, more “sensitive” topics.

🛑 وزير العدل الفرنسي #جيرالد_دارمانان 🇫🇷يصل #الجزائر 🇩🇿 برفقة عدد من القضاة وكان في استقباله وزير العدل الجزائري لطفي بوجمعة.
في أجندة زيارة وزير العدل الفرنسي مناقشة التعاون القضائي بين فرنسا والجزائر بالإضافة إلى قضايا "حساسة" وفق تعبير وزارة العدل الفرنسية. pic.twitter.com/9SwhQcJVZ4

— بوابة الجزائر – Algeria Gate (@algatedz) May 17, 2026

According to the French Ministry of Justice, a further objective of this trip is to renew relations concerning judicial cooperation between Paris and Algeria.

Likewise, according to the French Ministry of Justice, consultations between both parties that involve other “important” subjects are scheduled to include: the fight against organized crime; the fight against drug trafficking; the fight against terrorism; the crime of trafficking and transiting across borders; financial crime and the monitoring of the so-called “dirty money”.

In relation to the diplomatic niceties of the visit, and in the presence of the media, the French Minister of Justice will also be called upon to answer, in a clear and unambiguous manner, Algerian demands, and to turn good faith gestures and expressions into acts, and to abandon the policies of haste and two-pronged approaches to the core of the issues that have long strained Algerian-French relations. These include the retrieval of stolen assets, the fulfillment of judicial requests, and the extradition of accused persons to Algeria