A Photo of France’s Ambassador to Morocco Sparks Algerian Military Regime’s Outrage
The scene would almost be laughable if it did not reveal the unhealthy obsession of Algeria’s military regime. On September 1, 2025, during the back-to-school and administrative season, the French Embassy in Morocco released a simple video featuring its ambassador, Christophe Lecourtier, standing in front of a full map of the Kingdom of Morocco. Because of the camera angle, the so-called “Eastern Sahara” appeared in the background — a region still claimed by some fringe Moroccan nationalist circles.
Almost instantly, Algiers erupted. The junta denounced a “diplomatic scandal,” launched into cries of indignation, and repeated its tired refrain of an alleged “Franco-Moroccan-Zionist plot.” Once again, the Algerian regime showed its chronic inability to handle regional matters with dignity, choosing instead to weaponize the slightest image in order to fuel its propaganda campaign against Morocco and its allies.
An institutionalized paranoia
This episode vividly illustrates the institutional paranoia that plagues Algeria’s military leadership. Trapped in a permanent confrontation mindset, the regime desperately seeks to distract public opinion from the suffocating economic crisis, the suppression of freedoms, and the lack of democratic horizons at home. Rather than addressing its internal problems, the junta brandishes Morocco as a scapegoat — going so far as to accuse France of collusion over a harmless photograph.
A fit of rage that speaks volumes
This latest outburst from Algiers, triggered by a photo with no real diplomatic significance, speaks volumes about the regime’s growing fragility. Far from displaying strength, it underscores the nervousness of a power obsessed with Morocco, unable to confront its own failures, and locked into a sterile logic of confrontation with its neighbors and the wider world.
Translated from Abderrazzak Boussaid’s French article – le7tv
