Algeria has issued two arrest warrants for the acclaimed French-Algerian writer Kamel Daoud, the French foreign ministry confirmed on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, amidst rising tensions between the two nations. French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine stated that the Algerian judiciary had informed France of the warrants. “We are monitoring and will continue to monitor developments in this situation closely,” he said, emphasizing that Daoud was “a renowned and respected author” and that France was committed to freedom of expression.
Daoud won France’s prestigious Prix Goncourt in 2024 for his novel Houris, which centers on Algeria’s civil war between the government and Islamists in the 1990s. The novel, which is banned in Algeria, tells the story of a young woman who loses her voice after witnessing her family’s massacre during the war.
In November 2024, Saâda Arbane, an Algerian woman, claimed on Algerian television that the main character in Houris is based on her experiences. Daoud, 54, has denied these claims. Arbane alleges that she shared her story during therapy sessions with a psychotherapist who later became Daoud’s wife in 2016, and that Daoud subsequently used details from those sessions in his book.
The arrest warrants were issued following a complaint filed by Arbane against Daoud in Algeria. Arbane is also pursuing a lawsuit against Daoud in France for invasion of privacy, with a preliminary hearing scheduled in Paris on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
Daoud’s publisher, Gallimard, has defended the author and his wife, asserting that they are victims of orchestrated attacks following the banning of Houris in Algeria.
The situation comes at a time of heightened tensions between France and Algeria, particularly after Paris recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, where Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front, in 2024.
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