Over 10,000 Algerian-origin residents in France staged a protest in Paris on Sunday, demanding President Abdelaziz Bouteflika abandon his re-election campaign. The demonstration marked the second consecutive weekend of rallies at Paris's Republique Square, with smaller protests also occurring in Marseille and Bordeaux.
Protester Ahmed Eddaidj, a 24-year-old student who has lived in France for four years, said, "We need to get rid of the system." He expressed frustration over limited job opportunities in Algeria, stating, "I'd like to go back, but there's no work. We're looking for a better life."
Rachid Nekkaz, an Algerian businessman and political activist, joined the Paris rally after being released by Swiss authorities. He had been detained at a Geneva hospital where Bouteflika was receiving treatment. Nekkaz was briefly carried on demonstrators' shoulders during the protest.
France, which colonized Algeria for over a century, hosts the largest Algerian diaspora outside the North African nation. National statistics agency INSEE estimates 1.7 million Algerian-origin residents live in France. Some members of the community have urged President Emmanuel Macron to support the protests against Bouteflika, who is 82 years old and has led Algeria for 20 years.
However, the French government has avoided direct intervention, emphasizing respect for Algeria's sovereignty. Opposition figure Ali Benflis, a former prime minister, warned against external interference, stating, "Algeria's problems cannot be resolved from the outside."
French politician Francois Bayrou, a Macron ally, called the protests an "Algerian Spring" but cautioned against optimism, noting "it's not because these movements begin well that they end well." He warned Islamist groups might exploit the unrest.
