Boualem Bensaïd: France urges Algeria to accept the expulsion procedure for one of the perpetrators of the 1995 attacks, who is eligible for release from Friday

Paris "strongly hopes" that Algeria will agree to take in Boualem Bensaïd, one of the perpetrators of the 1995 attacks in France , who could be released from Friday, August ^1, provided he can be expelled to his country of origin, declared Jean-Noël Barrot. "This is an obligation incumbent on the Algerian authorities under the rules that govern our relationship," the French foreign minister said on Franceinfo on Friday.

On July 10, the Paris Court of Appeal authorized the release of this 57-year-old Algerian, convicted in particular of having planted the bomb that exploded in the RER B station Saint-Michel on July 25, 1995, killing eight people and injuring 150. He had been sentenced in 2002 and then on appeal in 2003 to life imprisonment with a security period of 22 years.

This release is subject to a "removal measure and on the condition that the convicted person leave French territory and not appear there again." "At this stage, no consular pass has been signed, so he remains in detention," a source close to the case told Agence France-Presse on Friday morning.

For over a year, Algiers and Paris have been going through a deep diplomatic crisis, marked by the expulsion of diplomats on both sides and a freeze on all cooperation, particularly in the areas of migration and the judiciary.

Algeria, in particular, rejects expulsion procedures from France. French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau stated on July 23 that 120 people targeted by such measures have not been taken back by the Algerian authorities.

"For months now, Algiers has not accepted anyone from the list of individuals that France wants to expel to Algeria. In this particular case, I believe that Algeria would show its sense of responsibility by taking back its national," added Jean-Noël Barrot on Friday, regretting that relations between the two countries are "at a standstill" and blaming this on the Algerian authorities.

Boualem Bensaïd is considered the coordinator of the wave of six attacks that struck France in 1995, claimed by the Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA), which accused France, the former colonial power, of "supporting" the Algiers regime.