World

Algerian urea exports to France under threat as diplomatic tensions persist, sources say

PARIS: Algeria has instructed urea producers to stop exporting the fertilizer to France in an intensification of trade curbs that have followed a diplomatic rift between Algeria and its former colonial ruler, according to diplomats and industry sources. Ties between Paris and Algiers, which have been complicated for decades, deteriorated in 2024 when French President Emmanuel Macron backed a plan for autonomy for the Western Sahara region under Moroccan sovereignty. The two countries sought t