Macron calls advocates of tougher Algeria stance 'nutcases', drawing same-day rebuke from Retailleau

Speaking on April 28 during a hospital visit to Lavelanet in southwestern France, French President Emmanuel Macron dismissed those calling for France to "fall out" with Algiers as "nutcases", drawing a same-day written rebuttal from former interior minister Bruno Retailleau, the Republicans party leader and a 2027 presidential contender. Retailleau accused Macron of using France's row over foreign-trained doctors as a "false pretext" to avoid the underlying dispute over Algerian nationals subject to obligatory deportation orders whom Algiers refuses to take back. Macron later, on a stop in Andorra, said he was "not targeting anyone" and defended a policy of "rigorous dialogue" with Algiers based on mutual respect.

Retailleau, who has been sharpening his law-and-order positioning ahead of 2027 with proposals including an "anti-trafficking emergency" plan that would impose heavily policed lockdowns in neighbourhoods affected by drug networks, argued that "a policy of good intentions is doomed to fail" with Algerian authorities and accused Algiers of treating France with "humiliation". The exchange unfolded against a still-running argument over France's "Padhue" framework, the system that requires already-qualified doctors trained outside the European Union to sit competitive exams to obtain permanent practising status. Macron, standing alongside a doctor from Oran, called the current system "a mess" and criticised "the madness" of forcing experienced practitioners to re-sit exams; he praised the contribution of foreign-trained medics in underserved areas.

French Medical Association figures cited in the reporting show that, of the 19,000-plus non-EU-trained doctors practising in France as of 1 January 2025, just under 39 percent obtained their degrees in Algeria, 15 percent in Tunisia, with smaller contingents from Syria, Morocco and Lebanon. Retailleau countered that "the problem is not Algerian doctors", reframing the political dispute around enforcement of deportation orders rather than healthcare staffing.