Algeria said yesterday it would "immediately" recall its ambassador from France for consultations after documentaries about the North African country's anti-government protest movement were aired on French public television, reports the New Straits Times.
The interior ministry said films including two broadcast on Tuesday, while "seemingly spontaneous and under the pretext of freedom of expression, are in fact attacks on the Algerian people and its institutions" including the army.
Citing the "recurrent character" of such programmes on French public TV, it singled out two documentaries broadcast on Tuesday by France 5 and the former colonial power's Parliamentary Channel.
Unprecedented mass protests rocked Algeria early last year to demand the departure of veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, sparked by the ailing 82-year-old's announcement that he would stand for a fifth term.
In April 2019 he resigned, and in December, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was elected on an official turnout of less than 40 per cent. Analysts say participation was considerably lower.
Mass protests against the ruling system only halted when the novel coronavirus arrived in Algeria earlier this year.
Despite the movement suspending demonstrations since mid-March, a crackdown has continued against regime opponents and independent media.
The films cited by the Algerian ministry had sparked fierce debates on social media.
"Algeria, my love", aired by France 5, told the story of the Hirak protest movement through the eyes of five Algerians in their 20s from across the country.
Read more of this AFP report published by the New Straits Times.