The curtness of the response as much as its speed were signs of the magnitude of the crisis between Paris and Algiers. The escalation now seems unstoppable. On Monday, March 17, the Algerian government refused to accept the list of some 60 of its nationals subject to deportation orders sent to it on Friday by French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau. These individuals are "of the type 'disturbing public order' or coming out of prison or with dangerous profiles," Retailleau had specified.

Algiers vehemently rejected this approach. "The Algerian authorities have decided not to follow up on the list submitted by the French authorities," according to a dispatch from the official Algeria Press Service agency, adding that Algeria "reaffirms its categorical rejection of threats, attempts at intimidation, injunctions, ultimatums, and any coercive language." And as if the scenario for the confrontation had been written in advance, Retailleau, a proclaimed proponent of arm-wrestling with Algiers, announced less than two hours later on X that "a graduated response will be engaged" as "decided by the interministerial committee [on immigration control] under the [leadership] of the prime minister."

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