The French justice system has now prevented for the second time attempts to deport Algerian TikToker Doualemn after his antisemitic and pro-terrorism remarks on social media, defying the Ministry of the Interior. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has announced that he would appeal the decision.
The most recent chapter of the bizarre saga goes back to beginning of January, when the minister of the interior decided to put an end to the deeds of the Algerian TikTokers based in France who are waging a veritable war on France on social media on behalf of the Algerian government, advocating for murder and making antisemitic statements. Minister Retailleau requested an emergency deportation procedure against one of them, named Doualemn.
The problem is that there is an overt feud between the services of the minister of the interior and the other ministries. Under the previous government of Michel Barnier, Retailleau had been openly contradicted by the minister of justice, who publicly stated that there was no major problem of crime in France and that the link between immigration and criminality was greatly overestimated. When Retailleau called for a reform of the free of charge medical services granted to migrants, it was the minister of health who opposed it.
This time, it was a court decision that stopped the settling of the case of the Algerian influencers once and for all. The emergency deportation decision was deemed “insufficiently motivated” by the justice in charge of the case.
It is hard to believe that the deportation decision would have been “insufficiently motivated.” The TikToker Doualemn, whose real name is Boualem Naman, entered France illegally on two occasions and has already been convicted six times. Following his calls on TikTok for the murder of people hostile to the Algerian government, the minister of the interior decided to have him immediately deported to Algeria on January 9th. But the Algerian regime, whose relations with Paris are particularly tense, decided to send the influencer back on the same day, banning him from the territory of Algeria. A decision aimed at “humiliating France,” according to Retailleau.
Back in France, Doualemn had his residence permit withdrawn, then subjected to an Obligation to Leave French Territory (OQTF) order. The OQTF works a little differently from emergency deportation: individuals affected by an OQTF are, in theory, forced to leave France by their own means within 30 days. After this period, they may be deported by the French authorities, provided the deportees can be found. It is not uncommon for those subject to an OQTF to conveniently disappear into thin air, as was the case a few months ago with the man involved in the murder of the young Philippine.
For the second time in a single month, the justice system has blocked the execution of Retailleau’s policy. On Thursday, February 6th, the administrative court decided to cancel the OQTF “on the grounds that there was serious doubt as to the legality of the absolute emergency procedure implemented.” But that’s not all: the court also demanded that the influencer be released from detention, that he be issued with a provisional residence permit, and that he be paid a compensation of €1200.
The case highlights the total impossibility for the authorities to take a firm stance on immigration and crime issues as a result of the continuous sabotaging of the judiciary that takes the side of migrants and criminals. The judges are aided by case law developed over several years that has created dangerous precedents.
Reacting to the judicial move Minister Retailleau expressed his dismay in the media: “Should our laws protect dangerous individuals or French society from dangerous individuals?” he exclaimed on the LCI channel.
Retailleau’s powerlessness was pointed out by Laurent Jacobelli, spokesman for the Rassemblement National (RN), who accused him of limiting himself to an exercise in “political marketing.” “If you want to apply the policy of the Rassemblement National, you have to apply the whole programme of the Rassemblement National and have a Rassemblement National government. And that is not the case for Mr Bruno Retailleau”, he explained on TV.
The minister seems to be resolute, however, to engage in a trial of strength with the court and appeal its decision. He has been assured of his support by Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, who has also taken note in the media of the bankruptcy of the system in place. “If the law has to be amended again to make things extremely clear and to ensure that the Republic and the State do not show signs of powerlessness but expel any illegal foreign nationals from the national territory, then the law will have to be amended,” he told the National Assembly.
In view of the systemic undermining of the deportation efforts by the judicial system, Retailleau’s appeal procedure is unlikely to succeed. And in the meantime, Doualemn remains in France.
