Six Algerian nationals living in France are under investigation for allegedly promoting hatred and violence against opponents of the Algerian government, fueling tensions between Algeria and Paris.

Three Algerians were arrested by French authorities earlier this year for content posted on their social networks. The French-Algerian TikToker was then detained on Thursday, reports said Euronews.

Two other Franco-Algerian influencers, who have not been arrested, are also under investigation, authorities in Lyon announced on Monday.

The six are accused of inciting violence and hatred online through materials directed at critics of the Algerian government.

The series of arrests and investigations led to a diplomatic crisis between France and Algeria, whose relations began to deteriorate last year after the French government's decision to back Morocco's claim to sovereignty over Western Sahara.

France accuses Algeria of 'trying to humiliate'

Bualem Naman (59), a cleaner who goes by the name "Dualemn", is one of the accused.

He was arrested in Montpellier on January 5 for allegedly promoting violence on social media.

Naman - who has 138.000 followers on TikTok - posted a video in Arabic calling for "inflicting pain" on an Algerian anti-government protester, according to French media.

At the request of the public prosecution in Montpellier, the video was viewed by two translators. They said Naman called for a man in Algeria to be "beaten", but added that he did not say the words "kill him", as previously reported.

The 59-year-old suspect was then put on a flight to Algeria on Thursday.

However, Algeria refused to take him in, arguing that Naman, who has lived in France for 36 years, has the right to defend himself before French courts. He was returned to France that evening, according to the French Interior Ministry.

After the incident, French Interior Minister Bruno Retaglio suggested that Algeria was "trying to humiliate France".

"I think we have reached an extremely worrying threshold with Algeria," he said on Friday.

In response, the Algerian Foreign Ministry claimed that Paris was "running a campaign of disinformation" against it.

Meanwhile, Naman's lawyers, Jean-Baptiste Mousset and Marie David-Belloir, said their client was "paying the price" of the "tense political and diplomatic situation".

Diplomatic crisis between France and Algeria

A few months before the influential figures were arrested, relations between France and its former colony had already begun to deteriorate.

Last year, Emmanuel Macron's government reversed its historic position on the disputed territory of Western Sahara, choosing to back Morocco's claim to it.

The move has proved highly unpopular with Algeria, which supports the Sahrawi people's claim to self-determination and cut diplomatic ties with Morocco in 2021 after accusing its neighbor of "hostile acts".

To express its disapproval of France's decision, the Algerian government recalled its ambassador from Paris.

France's attempt to strengthen business and diplomatic relations with Morocco also intensified the crisis. President Macron visited the country for three days in October.

After being re-elected in September, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Teboune announced he would not travel to France after repeatedly postponing a state visit originally planned for May 2023.

After coming to power, Teboune repressed freedom of expression in Algeria, imprisoning journalists and pro-democracy activists.

Last week, President Macron accused Algeria of "embarrassing itself" by imprisoning 75-year-old French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who is a vocal critic of the Algerian government.