A police dragnet in France has swept up three Algerian men described by authorities as social media influencers accused of posting videos inciting violence against a backdrop of soured relations between Paris and its former colony in North Africa.
Imad Ould Brahim, a 31-year-old video blogger known as Imad Tintin, reportedly urged his followers to "burn alive, kill and rape" in France and was taken into custody on Monday ahead of a trial set for early March.
On Friday, Brahim was arrested outside the southeastern city of Grenoble after publishing a video urging followers to "burn alive, kill and rape on French territory".
On Monday, he appeared in court on charges of "direct incitement of an act of terrorism".
He requested and obtained a delay for his trial to prepare his defence.
But he was placed in custody pending the trial, which is set to begin on 5 March, with the presiding judge citing risks of pressure on witnesses or his flight abroad.
During the hearing, Brahim denied any terrorist intent and contested the editing and translation of the videos.
His lawyer, Alexandre Rouvier, who argued for his client to be kept out of jail but under judicial supervision, asked for further information.
Brahim entered France in December 2021 and applied for a residence permit in August 2023 after marrying a French woman. However, his application was refused and is subject to an expulsion order.
Two other Algerians suspected of inciting violence in videos were also detained in France.
The first Algerian influencer arrested, 25-year-old Youcef A., known on social media as Zazouyoussef, who reportedly had more than 400,000 followers on TikTok before his account was closed down, was detained Friday in the western city of Brest over a video in which he called for attacks in France and violence in Algeria.
He will stand trial on 24 February on a charge of "publicly advocating an act of terrorism".
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced the latest arrest Sunday evening, saying the influencer had called on followers to carry out attacks in France. He also announced the arrest of another Algerian, also describing him as an influencer, on Friday night.
The minister said in a post that "he too will have to answer to the courts for vile comments made on TikTok."
On Sunday, an Algerian influencer nicknamed Doualemn was detained in the southern city of Montpellier over violent comments targeting an Algerian activist opposed to the government in Algiers.
The Montpellier public prosecutor said Monday that he would not release any information "until the direction of the case has been decided".
It was not immediately clear whether all arrested were Algerian citizens living in France.
The arrests in the Alpine city of Grenoble, Montpellier in southern France and the port city of Brest in the west come amid renewed turbulence in the often-complicated relationship between France and Algeria, which shook off French rule in 1962 after a brutal war.
French President Emmanuel Macron angered the authorities in Algiers after renewing French support for Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
A shift last July in France's decades-old position on the disputed Western Sahara region of northern Africa angered Algeria and prompted the withdrawal of its ambassador in Paris.
The French government, meanwhile, has denounced Algeria's detention of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who has been detained since November. The 75-year-old author is an outspoken critic of the Algerian government.
The French government hasn't linked the tensions with Algiers to the three arrests.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Sunday that France wants "the best relations" with Algeria. But he said Paris has doubts about the Algerian government's commitment to deals agreed in 2022 that were seen as important steps toward mending their relationship.