Following the escalation of diplomatic tension with France, voices escalated in Algeria for a final cultural break with the old colonizer, by taking a number of measures, foremost of which is the revival of the law related to the generalization of the use of the Arabic language.

Since the beginning of last month, there have been successive decisions to end dealing with the French language in several government sectors, amid calls to enhance the status of the Arabic language as the official language of the country, as well as support the presence of English in education.

What is meant by the generalization of Arabic is that it will be the only working language in the papers and administrative transactions within the official institutions in the country.

The ministries’ decision coincided with an escalating crisis with France after French President Emmanuel Macron’s statements were described as “offensive” as he challenged Algeria’s history and said that there was no Algerian nation before French colonialism, which led the latter to withdraw its ambassador from Paris and ban French military flights from crossing its airspace.

The political circles in Algeria rose up against these statements, and rushed to enact a law criminalizing the French colonization of the country (1830-1962) and the empowerment of Arab within government institutions and the expulsion of the French from them.

Paris views the French language as a tool of cultural influence that enhances France's political and economic influence in its old colonies, including Algeria. In 2017, the French Senate issued a report in which it questioned the reasons for Algeria's non-joining of the Organization of Francophone countries, despite the wide spread of this language among its residents.

French is the first foreign language in Algeria, and it is compulsory to be taught in the second year of the primary stage, while English begins in the teaching curricula at the intermediate (basic) stage.

governmental orientation

Algeria usually witnesses controversy over the status of French in official circles in the first place, as opponents, especially conservatives, protest against the issuance of official letters and documents in government departments in French.

In 2019, the former Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research (Ministry of Universities), Tayeb Bouzid, worked on a project to replace French and adopt English as the language of teaching and scientific research.

In November 2020, the former Minister of Labor and Social Security, El Hashemi Jaboub, issued a circular to all Ministry frameworks prohibiting the use of French when receiving and addressing citizens.

Last October marked an unprecedented succession of ministerial decisions aimed at canceling French and replacing it with Arabic.

The most powerful decisions were the issuance by 3 ministries, namely "vocational training", "youth and sports" and "labor", instructions to end dealings in French, and to use Arabic exclusively in all correspondence, reports, minutes of meetings and documents.

There is information circulating within ministries that there are verbal instructions from the country's highest authorities to end dealing in French within government sectors, but Anatolia was not able to verify the authenticity of this information.

Intersecting sources indicate that removing the French from the Algerian administration does not deserve a political decision, as it is within the scope of the powers granted to members of the government, and it is possible to gradually move towards this endeavor until it becomes entrenched and turns into a permanent mechanism of action.

Arabic popularization law

In the context of the empowerment of Arabic as the official language of the State of Algeria in the text of the constitution, calls were renewed to revive the "Law on the Dissemination of the Arabic Language".

What is meant by "revival" is that the law exists, but it has been frozen for nearly 30 years.

In January 1991, the Algerian authorities issued a law to generalize the use of Arabic in all transactions within government sectors, but its application remained suspended for reasons that opponents say are due to the influence of the so-called "lobby in support of France" in the country.

Historian Amer Rakhila said that this legislative text "was enacted and approved by the People's National Assembly (the only chamber of parliament at the time), and it was issued in the Official Gazette, but it did not enter into force."

Rakhila added to Anatolia that "the initiative with this law was imposed by political tensions between the (formerly ruling) National Liberation Front and the Islamic Salvation Front (it is prohibited), but I entered the refrigerator with an instruction (direction) from higher authorities in the state for reasons that are still ambiguous."

The spokesman emphasized that the French lobby's touch was very clear in pushing for freezing the law and not adopting it, especially since it was ordering to start imposing the Arabic language in all institutions "to be suspended before the specified deadlines."

It will be revived

Ahmed Sadouk, head of the Movement of Society for Peace (the largest Islamist party in Algeria) at the level of the National People's Assembly (first chamber of parliament), confirmed that "the revival of this law is programmed as a step following the law criminalizing colonialism."

And last Sunday, about a hundred deputies submitted a bill criminalizing French colonialism in Algeria to the office of the National People's Assembly.

"Our next step is to lift the freeze on the frozen text with an unknown instruction in 1993," Zadok told Anadolu Agency.

He stated that "the Western current (relative to Western culture) that controlled the wheels of power at that time was able to freeze the law."

He considered that the opportunity to revive it "is a good law" and even "add or amend some articles to suit the current time", especially "with the new orientation of the Algerian authority towards France."

He said that the empowerment of the Arabic language will not stop when the law is revived, but that another law must be enacted that "criminalizes" the use of French in the official institutions and administration of the Algerian state, thus giving strong immunity to the national language.

Should laws be enacted?

Experts and historians say that the spread of French in Algeria is due to its imposition during the colonial era that lasted 132 years (1830-1962), and the fight against the occupation of Arabic, as well as the delay in implementing laws to Arabize the administration and education after independence.

Others say that the salvation from French influence in the joints of the Algerian state is the final liberation of the administration from French, because it is not just a language of action, but rather an “ideology” that often hides trends in favor of France.

In this context, historian Amer Rakhila stressed the importance of enacting laws instead of being satisfied with ministerial instructions in generalizing Arabic, "because retracting the instruction is easier than it is because it is just administrative directives, and the matter must be based on a legal text or an organizational decree."

He added, "The laws did not withstand those who are loyal to the French language, let alone instructions," adding that "the success of the steps is increasing in view of the equal and clear treatment adopted by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune with France."

"Taboun's speech about the old colonialists has not been heard since the time of the late leader Houari Boumediene (1965-1978), and it is a speech accompanied by procedures," he said.