Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Algeria’s move to English signals erosion of France’s sway

Algeria’s move to English signals erosion of France’s sway

The French president was in Algeria last week to boost ties with its former colony as Algeria signals a shift away from French in education.

In the world of diplomacy, few details carry as much import as language. And few languages carry the diplomatic and cultural heft that French has long boasted.

So when the sign on Emmanuel Macron’s lectern at the Algerian presidential palace last week read “Presidency of the Republic” instead of “Présidence de la République” in French (after all, Algeria was part of the French colonial empire for well over a century), diplomats and casual observers in Paris took note.

“I wasn’t surprised but I was shocked [Algeria] would do such a thing during the visit of a French president,” said France’s former ambassador to Algeria, Xavier Driencourt.

“It’s very deliberate. It’s a message for France but also a way of telling the Algerian people that there’s nothing special about French, it’s a language like any other,” he added.

The choice of the host’s language during Macron’s trip is the latest signal the government wants to phase out French as one of the working languages of Algerian officialdom. In July, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced that English would be taught in primary schools starting this year in what has been presented as a gradual phasing out of French. “French is a spoil of war, but English is an international language,” said Tebboune.

The use of French, particularly in public administration, businesses and universities, is part of a complicated legacy of the colonial era, which ended in 1962 after a brutal eight-year war of independence. France is now in a soft power battle to maintain influence in Algeria as its former colony moves to replace French for English in schools. Arabic and Tamazight are the two official languages of Algeria, with most citizens speaking an Arabic dialect at home. While French is not an official language of the former French colony, it is taught in Algerian elementary schools starting around age nine and is spoken by a third of Algerians. English is only studied in secondary schools beginning around age 14. If the Algerian government has its way, the status of the two languages will be reversed with English language instruction starting in elementary school swapping out French.

With close to 15 million French speakers according to the International Organization for the French language, Algeria is the third-largest French-speaking country in the world, after France and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For France, the loss of Algeria would be a huge dent to its sphere of influence, which is a constant concern for French politicians.

“If France doesn’t get its act together, if it doesn’t stop the replacement of French by English, it will lose its influence, it will lose people able to spread its culture and defend its interests. If there is no change, the French sphere of influence will disappear,” said Dr. Ryadh Ghessil, French language lecturer at the University of Bourmèdes, east of Algiers.

But while the move away from using French is seen by some as a way of exorcising the Mediterranean nation’s colonial past, many Algerian French-speakers look askance at a decision they say is politically motivated.

“The government is trying to boost the use of Arabic, but also encourage English because it’s seen as more culturally neutral in Algeria,” he said.

“They are doing it because behind every language there is a culture, and the French language creates people who are critical, who have read Camus and who are a problem for the powers that be,” he said, with reference to the French writer and resistance fighter Albert Camus, who was born in Algeria.


Speaking to the world


Amid the bustle of downtown Algiers, Algerians on their lunch break take a moment to sit in the sun or catch up with friends before going back to work or school. Outside the Mustapha University hospital, the view on language is unanimous: Most would rather study English instead of French as their second language if they were given the choice.

“English is an international language, it’s more useful than French for traveling,” said management student Souhali Zouaoui.

“If you want to work in Algeria you need French, but if you want to get a job in Europe, Canada or the United States, you want English,” she added.

Amid the bustle of downtown Algiers, Algerians on their lunch break take a moment to sit in the sun or catch up with friends before going back to work or school


“Young people prefer to speak English because everybody does. French is only spoken in a handful of countries,” echoed 23-year-old nurse Abdelrahim Sakraoui, sporting fake Yves Saint Laurent sunglasses and a hipster beard.

“The history of colonization also puts us off studying French,” he added.

In this corner of Algeria, France’s soft power — a highly subsidized culture industry and accessible state TV channels — appears to be failing to punch through the U.S.’s global reach, with locals naming American singers and films as their favorites.

And the desires of the younger globalized generations appear to dovetail with a historic hankering among nationalists in Algeria to phase out the use of French in officialdom, which dates back to the early days of independence.

“It’s not a new demand and the move is seen as a way of emancipating oneself from the old colonial ties,” said Amar Mohand-Amer, historian at a research center in the Algerian city of Oran.

“It’s cathartic, we want to liberate ourselves from the French language,” he said.

And according to Mohand-Amer, the language issue also rears its head every time the Franco-Algerian relationship hits difficulties — as it did last year.

Macron’s Algeria visit last week was aimed at resetting relations after the French president offended the Algerian regime when he accused them of instrumentalizing the colonial past.

Last year, the French president accused the Algerian government of being “a politico-military system” that encouraged “a hatred of France” and was “cashing in on the colonial past.” In response, Algeria recalled its ambassador for three months.


Shoring up French influence


Algeria’s public shift to English, the signing of a multibillion-euro gas deal with Italy in July and Algeria’s decision to hold joint military exercises with Russia in November were all signs picked up in Paris and viewed by some as a threat to its shrinking sway in the region. Macron’s visit to Algeria also came shortly after a visit to French-speaking Cameroon and Benin against the backdrop of France’s military withdrawal from the Sahel region.

Many observers note that France is fighting to maintain its influence in what was once called “la Françafrique” in the years after the independence of former French colonies in Africa.

While the number of French speakers in Africa is set to increase, the proportion of people speaking French in Africa is expected to plateau, according a report from the International Organization for the French language.

During his visit, Macron paid particular attention to publicly supporting the Franco-Algerian community, the bedrock of the continued use of French in Algeria.

“We want to have a more flexible approach on who we allow into France, to the families of binational citizens, but also artists, athletes, business leaders and politicians who contribute to creating the bilateral relationship,” he said on Friday in Algiers, adding that a deal on visas for Algerians would be announced in the coming weeks.

Macron also met a group of young entrepreneurs at the French embassy in Algiers, some of whom anonymously expressed concern at the government’s desire to phase out French.

“It reminds one of the Arabization policies in 1970s, which were catastrophic for Algeria. To get rid of French, Arabic teachers from Syria and Egypt were brought in, but they were often not qualified, didn’t know how to write properly in Arabic,” said Brahim Oumansour, North Africa expert for the Paris think-tank IRIS.

“Algeria spent a long time trying to repair the effects of that mistake,” he said.

The tide might not have fully turned yet against the French language. The gestures signaling a reconciliation between Macron and his counterpart Tebboune were numerous during the visit last week, with the leaders signing a statement of cooperation to open schools, translate French and Algerian works of literature and boost ties between universities on both sides of the Mediterranean.

“Now that there are signs of goodwill on both sides, maybe the language question will be revisited,” mused Oumansour.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×