On January 22, 2026, France 2 broadcast a special episode of its investigative magazine Complement d enquete titled Rumors and Dirty Tricks: The Secret War France-Algeria. Presented by Tristan Waleckx, this documentary examines what French authorities describe as the most serious diplomatic crisis between the two nations since the Algerian War of Independence. The program reveals alleged covert operations conducted by Algerian intelligence services on French soil, including the kidnapping of an opposition influencer, espionage networks within French ministries, and systematic pressure campaigns targeting French elected officials of Algerian origin.
The centerpiece of the investigation is the case of Amir Boukhors, known online as Amir DZ, a Franco-Algerian influencer with over 1.1 million followers on TikTok who has been a vocal critic of the Algerian regime. On April 29, 2024, Boukhors was kidnapped near his home in Val-de-Marne by a commando of men posing as French police officers, complete with fake badges and unmarked vehicles equipped with flashing lights. After being forcibly drugged with sedatives and held captive for approximately 27 hours in a container in a forest in Seine-et-Marne, he was inexplicably released. According to French investigators, the original plan was to exfiltrate him to Spain before transporting him to Algeria, but the operation was abandoned for reasons that remain unclear.
The French anti-terrorism prosecutor PNAT has since charged seven individuals in connection with the kidnapping. Among them is Salaheddine Selloum, identified by the DGSI French domestic intelligence as a sub-officer of the DGDSE, Algeria's external intelligence service, who was operating in Paris under diplomatic cover as First Secretary at the Algerian embassy. An employee of the Algerian consulate in Creteil, Smail R., was also arrested despite possessing a service passport, as he did not benefit from full diplomatic immunity. The investigation revealed a sophisticated network involving what prosecutors describe as three categories of actors: Algerian officials, intermediaries, and hired muscle recruited locally.
The documentary also reveals the case dubbed the Bercy Spy, involving a French engineer at the Ministry of Finance who was recruited by Algerian intelligence. According to the program, this civil servant transmitted information about approximately fifteen Algerian opposition figures living in France over a two-year period. The engineer reportedly claimed during interrogation that he acted under duress, stating I did not transmit them of my own free will, I had a threat hanging over me. The spy network allegedly extended to an employee of OFPRA, the French agency responsible for protecting refugees and stateless persons, who provided sensitive data that helped Algerian agents locate their targets, including Amir DZ.
One of the most striking revelations concerns alleged pressure campaigns targeting French elected officials of Algerian origin. According to a recent French counter-intelligence note obtained by the journalists, in November 2024, a Franco-Algerian municipal councilor from the Paris region was summoned to the Algerian consulate in Creteil for a two-hour interrogation in what she described as an oppressive atmosphere. The agent reportedly criticized her for having inaugurated a street plaque honoring Kabyle singer Lounes Matoub that mentioned only his Kabyle identity without referencing Algerian nationality. This is particularly sensitive for Algiers, which has classified the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia MAK as a terrorist organization.
The councilor told journalists that the Algerian agent demanded a correction and replacement of the plaque. When she refused, she was warned in a threatening tone that she would be monitored due to her French political connections. She received follow-up phone calls pressuring her to publicly reaffirm her attachment to Algeria. The elected official confirmed to the program that this is not an isolated case, stating there are numerous local elected officials who have been approached by consulates. According to the counter-intelligence note, the procedure aims to remind these officials that they are children of Algeria and have a duty toward their ancestors to take Algeria's side.
The documentary places these events in the broader context of the diplomatic crisis triggered by French President Emmanuel Macron's recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in July 2024. Algeria responded by withdrawing its ambassador to Paris with immediate effect. The situation escalated dramatically in 2025, with Algeria expelling 12 French diplomats and France retaliating with the expulsion of 12 Algerian diplomats, all identified by Intelligence Online as members of the DGDSE. France also recalled its ambassador Stephane Romatet from Algiers. All bilateral cooperation has been suspended.
The program also addresses two other cases emblematic of the tensions. Writer Boualem Sansal, 81 years old, was arrested in Algeria in November 2024 and sentenced to five years in prison for threatening national unity after making statements about Algeria's borders. He was eventually pardoned by President Tebboune in November 2025 following intervention by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and has since returned to France, where he is now a candidate for the Academie Francaise. Meanwhile, French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes, 36, who was in Algeria reporting on 1980s football history, was sentenced to seven years in prison in December 2025 for alleged contact with a MAK-affiliated football official. His appeal was rejected and he has filed a cassation appeal.
The documentary also examines the Algerian regime's broader strategy regarding influencers. The program describes how Algerian authorities have officially announced the creation of the Algerian Network of Content Creators, a structure gathering over 300 influencers. The Minister of Communication declared that influencers are an advanced line of defense in the battle of consciousness, explicitly linking digital content creation to national security. This martial vocabulary reflects a conception of social media as a terrain of strategic confrontation where content creators become auxiliaries of the political-military power's narrative.
Conversely, the regime has shown zero tolerance for critical voices. The program notes that prominent Algerian influencers who criticized the government, including Boudjemline Farouk known as Rifka and Numidia Lezoul, have been imprisoned. For opposition figures like Amir DZ, the treatment is even more severe. Amir Boukhors is the subject of nine international arrest warrants issued by Algeria and was granted asylum by France in 2023 after arriving in the country in 2016.
The investigation team, composed of journalists Sebastien Lafargue, Baptiste Laigle, Vincent Buchy, and Alexandru Sechilariu, also interviewed Sabrina Sebaihi, an ecologist MP and vice-president of the France-Algeria Friendship Group in the National Assembly. She stated that she had never been contacted by Algerian intelligence services, neither as a parliamentarian nor as a local elected official. The program generated some controversy when it was revealed that former French Ambassador to Algeria Xavier Driencourt, who appeared in the promotional trailer, was entirely absent from the final broadcast, leading to accusations of censorship.
The documentary concludes by examining the fundamental question of who initiated this crisis and whether it can be resolved. With both countries having recalled their ambassadors, expelled diplomats, and suspended cooperation, the relationship between France and Algeria has reached what many analysts describe as its lowest point since 1962. The battle of narratives continues, with each side accusing the other of interference and hostile actions, while figures like Amir DZ remain caught in the crossfire of this undeclared intelligence war.
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