to talk a bit more about those results from Algeria Mark perilman is with me now and Mark let's talk first of all about this uh controversy this apparent discrepancy in the figures from the election body what's going on well it's very strange actually uh because once the results uh were proclaimed 95% a huge uh score for abdal Majid tabun we had all the camps of the three candidates saying they were incoherent figures not so much about those results but about the turnout because the 95% was a given uh because the other uh potential uh contenders were pushed aside and uh we really had uh media apparatus tightly controlled by the state and so the overwhelming majority of Abdul Majid tun was to be expected but the fact that he himself as well as the two other candidates saying there are incoherent results it's because of the turnout because the real way for the algerians to express themselves uh in those polls was whether or not to go to vote and uh according to the calculations we're more around 20% 25% turnout rather than the official figure or of 40 or 40 and 42% and so clearly that's that's not good news uh for the regime because it means uh that the people uh decided not to go to the polls because because they they thought uh the outcome was foretold but also maybe and probably because they're not happy with the way uh this regime is handling the situation uh the economic situation the social situation and obviously uh the political uh situation we'll have to see how this pans out we can expect uh the heads of the Electoral commission to be pushed aside and be punished for not doing well their homework but clearly the fact is thatd maid T has been overwhelmingly uh reelected in what has certainly not been a democratic vote and I think when we talk about Algeria it's sort of odd to talk about that country without talking about its relationship with France France of course um the former colonial power Algeria was annexed to France for a long time and look it's been more than 60 years since Algeria won its independence but the relationship is still crucial and it's still pretty Rocky exceptional these are the words used by the presidential palace here in France France they issued a statement saying you know that they welcome the results and that the uh relationship between France and Algeria was quote unquote exceptional the problem being uh that for a few weeks it's been exceptionally bad because during uh his first mandate uh there was uh indeed a honeymoon between Emanuel macron and Abdel maid tun em MC went uh to Algeria there were some uh declarations that we need to work together the Algerian president was supposed to come to France on a state visit for several times it was postponed postponed postponed and again until uh in the middle of the summer uh the French president in a Written Letter uh at the end of July uh writing to the king of Morocco the Archen enemy of Algeria saying that it disputed Territory between Morocco and Algeria at least algeria's Ally the Saharan region uh em M for the first time said that France believed the only basis for a solution was a Moroccan autonomy plan dating back from 2007 France until now had only said this was a basis for negotiation but now by saying this was the basis it showed that France was suddenly uh making a U-turn and siding with Morocco as a result aler recalled its ambassador to France not for consultation but a proper withdrawal so there is a crisis in Franco Algerian relations as we speak and so we'll have to see how this continues obviously France will have very little to say about the current election because it knows that it is a really a very sensitive country when uh you talk about Algeria here in France all right thanks very much Mark Perman for us there