Algeria recalled its ambassador to France for consultations after French public television broadcast documentaries on the anti-government protest movement in North Africa, AP reported.

The Algerian MFA said these two documentaries while “seemingly spontaneous and under the pretext of the freedom of expression, are in fact attacks against the Algerian people and its institutions, including the National Armed Forces.”

The statement claims that the screening of documentaries demonstrates the “malicious ... intentions from some circles” opposed to good relations between Algeria and its former colonial ruler, France.

Mass demonstrations led to the overthrow of the President of Algeria in April 2019. In the documentaries, five young Algerians were shown kissing and drinking alcohol.

This caused a heated debate on Algerian social networks: some people claimed that these scenes give a distorted image of the pro-democratic movement.