ALGERIAN PATRIOTS - ENGLISH

For several months now, a well‑identified group of Moroccan commentators—among them Rachid Achichi and other self‑proclaimed “experts” in economics and geopolitics—has been devoting disproportionate energy to challenging the way Algeria’s GDP is calculated. This repetitive and often approximate fixation says less about Algeria’s economic reality than about Morocco’s strategic unease in the face of shifting regional power dynamics. 1. Algeria’s GDP: a controlled accounting framework, not a political invention Contrary to the recurring insinuations, Algeria’s GDP is neither improvised data nor an ideological construction. It is established in accordance with the System of National Accounts (SNA), a universal international framework, and is subject to external audits, verifications and validations conducted by international financial institutions. The more accurate integration of the informal economy —common practice in most emerging countries—is a methodological rebasing exercise, not...

The Gara Djebilet iron ore project has, for some commentators, become a convenient symbol of what they portray as Algeria’s inability to execute large‑scale industrial undertakings. Their central argument is now familiar: the high phosphorus content of the ore would make the project economically unviable . This claim, repeated confidently, does not withstand either technical scrutiny or serious economic analysis. It reflects an outdated understanding of modern mining , rather than an informed assessment of the project’s industrial logic. Phosphorus: A Known and Anticipated Technical Challenge — Not a Structural Obstacle It is true that the ore at Gara Djebilet contains a higher phosphorus content than what is typically acceptable in standard steelmaking. However, in contemporary mining, such constraints are neither unusual nor prohibitive. Processes for phosphorus removal — advanced magnetic separation, direct reduction, selective roasting, thermochemical treatments — are well-estab...

The latest report aired by Complément d’enquête on France 2 can hardly be described as neutral journalism. Presented under the guise of investigative reporting, it subtly disseminates suspicion toward a specific category of French elected officials—those holding dual French-Algerian nationality —by insinuating, without concrete evidence, the existence of divided loyalties or opaque networks of influence. The timing of the broadcast, less than two months before the municipal elections, cannot be dissociated from the French domestic political context. It transforms journalism from a tool of inquiry into an indirect instrument of political influence. The implicit message conveyed to viewers is unmistakable: being Franco-Algerian is equated with being suspect. Such stigmatization is not only unjust; it is dangerous, as it undermines democratic coexistence by portraying a segment of citizens as inherently incompatible with the Republic. A One-Sided Investigation What stands out most in th...

In recent months, some have rushed to label what is unfolding between Algeria and Morocco as “ fitna ,” as though merely naming realities, exposing threats, or defending national security were in itself a dangerous deviation worthy of reproach. Yet this accusation is, in truth, the very essence of fitna. For fitna, in its deepest political and moral sense, does not lie in the word that illuminates, but in the silence that conceals. It is not born from denouncing falsehood, but from normalizing it. It does not grow out of vigilance, but out of deliberate blindness draped in the illusion of wisdom. Fitna is not the act of speaking the truth, but the act of burying it. To portray every warning about the threats facing Algeria as an incitement to discord is to criminalize clarity itself. It is to reduce fitna to the realm of speech while absolving conduct—even when that conduct directly destabilizes the region. History, and Algeria’s history in particular, teaches that silence in the f...

AFCON 2025 will remain one of the most controversial editions in the recent history of African football — not for its spectacle, but for the blatant inequality in the treatment of participants: an Algeria heavily sanctioned, and a host nation, Morocco, consistently spared. The facts are clear, documented, and stubborn: CAF chose its target. 1. Algeria hit with exemplary — and disproportionate — sanctions Following the Algeria–Nigeria quarter-final on January 10, 2026, CAF imposed an unprecedented avalanche of penalties on the Algerian Football Federation: Luca Zidane suspended for two matches (AFCON 2027 qualifiers) Rafik Belghali suspended for four matches , including two with a suspended ban Total fines of around 100,000 USD , including: multiple yellow cards (5,000 USD), inappropriate behaviour by players and officials (25,000 USD), use of flares (5,000 USD), throwing objects (5,000 USD), security breaches (10,000 USD), offensive gestures by supporters (50,000 USD). Such cumul...

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations , hosted by Morocco at the cost of billions, was supposed to mark the kingdom’s definitive entry into the circle of major global sporting powers. Instead, it will be remembered as one of the most controversial editions—not for its level of play, but for what it revealed: the exposure of an institutionalized cheating system, planned long in advance, executed behind the scenes of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and ultimately thwarted on the field by what many have called, not without irony, a form of poetic justice. Morocco’s defeat in the final against Senegal (1–0, on January 18, 2026) does not erase the scandal; it sheds light on it. A CAN under suspicion from the first whistle Throughout the tournament, the Moroccan team benefited from refereeing decisions that were unanimously contested. From the group stage match against Mali, then against Tanzania in the round of 16 and Cameroon in the quarterfinals, clear penalties against Morocco we...