The French government of the Bourbon Restoration had taken the "fan affair" ("l'affaire de l'éventail") of 1827—what the French considered an insult to the French consul in Algiers by the dey—as a pretext to invade Algeria and castigate the Dey for his "impudence."

The French consul and residents had taken off for France, while the Minister of War, Clermont-Tonnerre, had proposed a military expedition.

The ultra-royalist Count of Villèle, President of the Council, and the monarch's heir, the Duc du Berry, had opposed themselves to it.

The government had finally decided to blockade Algiers for three years.

However, the important tonnage of French ships has forced them to keep away from the coasts, while the Barbary pilots can easily espouse the geography of the coast.

Before the failure of the blockade, Polignac’s government had decided on January 31, 1830 to engage a military expedition against Algiers.

Admiral Duperré takes the command in Toulon of an armada of six hundred ships and heads for Algiers.