a polemical and anti-France verse restored by a decree of the Algerian president

The third verse of the Kassaman (Algerian national anthem), deemed anti-France, was reinstated on May 21 by a decree from the Algerian president, the international editorial staff of Radio France reported on Friday June 16.

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The decree changes the circumstances under which the country’s national anthem (written by Moufdi Zakaria, an Algerian poet and independence activist) must be played in full. It will now be at all official ceremonies in the presence of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. More precisely, this third verse (of the five in the anthem) had been restored several years ago, but it had disappeared from public life, with the exception of FLN congresses or the investiture of the President of the Republic. Algerian. The new decree therefore now includes it in the protocol of all official ceremonies.

Among the lyrics of this verse, we can read: “O France, the time for palaver is over […] The day has come when you must be accountable”.

For the activist and opponent Samir Yahiaoui, contacted by the international editorial staff of Radio France, it is about populism: “We have the most Francophobic regime since independence. It’s really selling its sauce to the Algerian population and continuing this anti-French memory rent”he laments. “This regime uses this memorial income to re-legitimize itself in the face of its population”. According to him, “it’s imposture and anti-French communication”.

For the moment, Paris has not yet reacted.