France says it's "very concerned" about the disappearance of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who has not been heard from since he was reportedly taken into police custody upon his arrival in Algeria on Saturday.

Alarm grew in France on Friday over the fate of a prominent French-Algerian novelist detained in the country of his birth, with his publisher urging his immediate release and President Emmanuel Macron closely following the case.

Algeria is the historic backer of the independence movement Polisario. Macron’s move angered many Algerians, who view the award of France's Prix Goncourt to Daoud as a political rather than a literary gesture. Elysée officials have told journalists that ...