A few weeks ago it was unthinkable that the French President and Prime Minister would visit Algeria, where more than 100,000 people have been killed in a civil war between the military and Islamic fundamentalists since 1992.
Shortly before his departure for Algiers yesterday the French Foreign Minister, Mr Hubert Vedrine, said that both men intend to accept an invitation from President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was "elected" in April after six other candidates withdrew in protest at voting fraud.
"I am going to give new and concrete meaning to the general idea of relaunching Franco-Algerian relations," Mr Vedrine told LCI television. "The natural development of these relations is a meeting between the two presidents, as well as a meeting between President Bouteflika and the Prime Minister, Mr Jospin. The dates are not set, but that's the logical perspective of a new beginning."
During his two-day visit Mr Vedrine will meet President Bouteflika, his Prime Minister, Mr Smail Hamdani, and the Foreign Minister, Mr Ahmed Attaf. Mr Vedrine is expected to announce the re-opening of French consulates in Annaba and Oran and the French cultural centre in Algiers.
Franco-Algerian relations under President Bouteflika got off to a bad start when Mr Vedrine expressed his "concern" about the conditions of Mr Bouteflika's election. The Algerian leader said he was "deeply shocked" and told journalists to "tell France to mind its own business and stay out of my country's affairs".
President Jacques Chirac and President Bouteflika met briefly at the funeral of King Hassan II of Morocco last Sunday. A statement by the Elysee said they talked together twice, "in a very friendly way".
About 30 French people were killed in Algeria between 1993 and 1996. They included Mgr Pierre Claverie, the bishop of Oran, who was assassinated as he returned from a meeting with the then French Foreign Minister, Mr Herve, de Charette on August 1st, 1996.
Mr Vedrine's appearance at a regional conference in Algiers in 1997 was less significant than yesterday's journey. The French Interior Minister, Mr Jean-Pierre Chevenement attended a meeting of Mediterranean interior ministers in Algiers at the end of June. His visit - during which he praised Mr Bouteflika - was a turning point.
These high-level visits - and the successful holding of the Organisation of African Unity summit in Algiers earlier this month - demonstrate a dramatic improvement in security in Algiers. Nine villagers were killed in the countryside south of the capital in mid-July, but a year and a half has passed since the last mass killing of hundreds.
An Air France delegation is also visiting Algiers to study the possibility of resuming flights there. The route was closed after the December 1994 hijacking of an Air France airbus in which nine people were killed.
In his 3 1/2 months in office, Mr Bouteflika has radically changed perceptions of his country, mainly by speaking openly and often to foreign media. Despite a July 1998 law banning the use of French, he gives interviews on Algerian television in French. This month, he praised the historical role of Jews in his country and greeted the Israeli Prime Minister warmly at King Hassan's funeral - unprecedented gestures in post-independence Algeria.