French is a war booty, but English is the language of the world.. the Algerian president announces the integration of English in the primary curricula this year

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced that the decision to include English in the primary education curricula will be implemented starting this year, in order for Algeria to enter the world.

However, Tebboune - in an interview with local media, which the Algerian presidency broadcast excerpts from today, Saturday via Facebook - said that the French language is a war booty for the Algerians, but the international language is English.

On June 19, President Tebboune ordered the adoption of the English language in education, starting at the primary level.

Teaching English in Algeria currently starts from the intermediate (preparatory) stage, and according to the decision, English will become the second foreign language in the primary stage, along with French.

It seems that the Algerian president borrowed the term "French booty of war" from his late compatriot, Kateb Yassine, an Algerian writer who wrote novels, theater and poetry and worked in the press. Controversial in Algeria, and one of his most famous works is the novel "Najma", which has been translated into several international languages.

Kateb Yacine is considered one of the most controversial writers in the history of contemporary Algerian literature. He was a free thinker on the theoretical level and through his literary works. He wrote most of his works in French, but he was forced to do so. He explained this by saying, "I write in French to tell the French that I am not French." He sees in the French language "spoils of war".

With time, the term "French war booty" became used in Algeria by political and cultural circles, to express that it was one of the inevitable results of the long period of French colonialism (1830 to 1962).

A report by the International Organization of Francophonie in 2022 revealed that about 15 million Algerians (out of 45 million) speak French.

In recent years, demands have escalated from Algerian parties and associations calling for the inclusion of English in the early years of education, as it is the most widely spoken language at the global level.