France 24’s reporting on the wildfires that have swept through many Algerian provinces has enraged the Algerian government, with Algeria’s Press Agency accusing the French channel of spreading “big lies” about the wildfires ravaging some Algerian provinces.
Algeria’s state media APS accused on Thursday France 24 of “pouring their hatred on Algeria,” describing the French news channel as “coarse, vulgar, and shameful channel” that failed to show respect for the victims of wildfires.
While “the entire Mediterranean coast is burning due to record temperatures exceeding 50 degrees,” APS wrote, France24 chose to focus on Algeria “as if the fires” targeted the North African country alone.
Similar wildfire incidents have ravaged several places across the world including Spain, Greece and Italy, yet the French channel is only reporting on the inferno in Algeria.
The Algerian news agency went on to add that some “gentlemen” from the “trash channel” received instructions against Algeria from one of “those close associates of the Elysee.”
APS further accused France’s Elysee Palace of being behind France24’s coverage of the wildfires in Algeria, arguing that some officials at the French presidency have known “connections with the terrorist organization MAK.”
This comes as Algeria has been accusing a Kabyle self-determination movement known as MAK of causing the wildfires that ravaged some Algerian regions in the summer of 2021.
Last year, the Algerian regime even designated MAK as a terrorist organization.
In February this year, however, the US State Department disputed Algeria’s designation, stressing that Algeria ‘s decision was stamped from a political rather than security purposes.
In its damning response to France24’s coverage, Algeria’s state media also called on the “evil” France24 channel to “stop its gross lies about Algeria,” suggesting that the country deployed all human resources to extinguish the wildfires.
“The Algerian state, having learned from the 2021 fires, mobilized all available means,” APS said, listing the resources being deployed to put out the fire.
“France 24 will never mention this, as it has decided to ignore everything, including the 17 other regions affected by the fires, to only talk about two provinces thus favoring the game of the terrorist movement MAK, its protectors, and terrorist organizations that project to take over a region from which the population categorically rejects them,”APS added.
