Algeria suspends relations with French Senate over Western Sahara visit

Algeria's upper house of parliament has cut ties with the French Senate following a visit by its speaker, Gérard Larcher, to Western Sahara, a region France acknowledges as Moroccan territory. The Algerian council condemned Larcher's visit as "irresponsible, provocative, and ostentatious." The north African country maintains that the region should remain sovereign, a disagreement that has heightened tensions between Paris and Algiers in recent months.