Amira Bouraoui, a rights activist detained during the 2019 mass protests in Algeria and freed from prison in 2020, had allegedly crossed into Tunisia illegally after evading Algerian judicial surveillance, according to Algerian and French media.
Algeria's Foreign Ministry accused Paris of "violation of national sovereignty by French diplomatic, consular and security personnel who participated in the illegal and secret evacuation of an Algerian national."
It added in a statement that the development is "unacceptable and harms Algerian-French relations."
Bouraoui was arrested in Tunisia this week and faced an extradition hearing, but the judge ordered her to be freed and she was allowed to leave the country on Monday.
French media has reported that her release and flight to France resulted from French diplomatic pressure on Tunisia.
A spokesperson for Tunisia's government was not immediately available to comment.
France will continue efforts to strengthen ties with Algeria despite Algiers accusing Paris on Wednesday of orchestrating the escape of an activist it wants to arrest, a French foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters, French deputy foreign ministry spokesman Francois Delmas declined to comment on the specific allegations but said that Bouraoui, a Franco-Algerian national, benefited from consular protection like all French nationals.
"The recall of the ambassador is an Algerian decision, but for us we intend to continue to work to deepen our bilateral relations with a renewed partnership," Delmas said.
The case meanwhile threatens to complicate ties between Algeria and Tunisia, which had also strengthened after Tunisia's Saied seized most powers by shutting down the parliament in 2021.
