Algerians in France protest in solidarity with strike wave in Algeria
By
V. Gnana and Alex Lantier
12 March 2019
As youth and broad sections of workers are striking and protesting against the Algerian regime, Algerians around the world are mobilising in solidarity. On Sunday, protests again unfolded in Paris and Marseille, attended by 10,000 and 6,000 people, respectively, a week after 1,000 Algerians protested in Montreal, Canada.
WSWS reporters interviewed protesters in Paris, who had gathered on Republic Square. They demanded not only that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika abandon plans to seek a fifth term, but also the downfall of the Algerian regime and a profound social transformation. Nearly 60 years after the Algerian war ended the French colonial regime in 1962, and an Algerian capitalist regime took power promising to build a socialist society in the country, the failure of these promises and the growing anger in the working class are deeply felt.
The WSWS interviewed Ali, a telecoms engineer at Bouygues, who said: “We are all here, all the Algerians are mobilised today against the regime, against the system that has controlled Algeria for more than 50 years. Indeed, we are not only against a fifth term, but also against the system and the regime. … Today we are French, we are Algerian too, and we will always remain both French and Algerian, but we are here to give our support to the Algerian people.”
Ali stressed that the strikes and protests in Algeria, like the demonstrations of the “yellow vest” movement in France, are part of an international resurgence of the working class: “We are very well aware that all of the existing regimes are regimes that try to enrich the wealthy and to impoverish the…