Algeria’s national anthem: Scolding message to France recalling colonial disharmony?

Algeria has reinstated a part of its national anthem (known as “Qassaman” in Arabic) that had been removed which vows to take revenge on France for the crimes committed in Algeria. This act has been seen as a scolding message to France; however, one Algerian lawmaker and politician does not see that.

The removed part says, as translated by Country Reports, “Ô France! Past is the time of palavers… We closed it as we close a book Ô France!... The day to settle the accounts has come!... Prepare yourself! Here is our answer!... The verdict, our Revolution will return it… We are determined that Algeria should live… So be our witness - be our witness - be our witness!!”

The new decree, which was signed by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on May 21 and published in issue No. 36 of the official gazette on May 24, stipulates that the national anthem shall be performed in its full form (with its five parts) in all official and state occasions. However, it adds that the national anthem shall be played in a short musical combination during appropriate ceremonies, including the formal reception of other leaders of state and personalities of the same rank, as well as guests of Algeria.

The reinstated part was removed in 1986 for “political considerations” and was also removed from the educational curricula in 2007.

The Algerian national anthem is the only one in the world that was composed and written in blood by Algerian poet Al Mufaddi Zakaria while he was imprisoned in Serkaji-Barberousse Prison. It is also the only national anthem in the world that mentions another country. The composition of the anthem had been made by the late Algerian musician Mohamed El-Toury, but it was approved by the revolutionaries at that time, and then it was rejected again after it was assigned to the late Tunisian musician Mohammed Al-Turaiki. In the end, the anthem of its current composition was produced by the late Egyptian musician Mohamed Fawzy, who refused to take money and insisted on composing it as a gift, according to the Algerian online newspaper Echorouk in a story published on December 19, 2017.

In his book “The Epic of the Anthem”, late Algerian Communications Minister Lamine Bechichi said that the late Algerian political activist and revolutionary Abane Ramdane ordered the composition of the national anthem and set three criteria for writing anthem, one of which was showing “the ugly face of colonial France” in its poetic verses.

Why was the stanza removed and then reinstated?

The anthem went through many stages. After independence, France demanded several times to delete this third part that refers to it, but Algeria had rejected this request, as “we cannot delete this stanza, which has gone through a long history,” Algerian Lawmaker Abdel-Karim Qurashi said in comments to Jusoor Post.

Later, after the historical relations between France and Algeria, the attainment of independence and the declaration of sovereignty in July 1962, some Algerian governments sought calm with France, especially during the era of Chadli Bendjedid in 1986, Qurashi added.

In 2007, this stanza was deleted from the education curricula, which the people did not accept because they cannot forget what France had done in Algeria, he continued.

The reinstatement of the stanza to the anthem by President Tebboune “is just to keep the full formula of it, and it is not related to a specific event [with France],” as the decree says the national anthem will be played in its short formula during the reception of the heads of states, Qurashi said, adding that Tebboune only mentioned the events where the entire anthem can be performed, as there are some provinces that stop after only the first stanza.

Strained relations

Both countries have a long history of marred relations, inherently due to the colonial era, and Tebboune’s tenure has not been far from bilateral tensions. Algeria summoned its ambassador to France, Said Moussi, “for consultation” in February 2023 when France helped French-Algerian activist Amira Bouraoui to flee the country via Tunisia, Observ Algerie reported on February 8. However, the relations witnessed an ease one month later.

Moussi was also recalled earlier in October 2021 when French President Emanuel Macron said, as reported by Le Monde, that Algeria was ruled by a “political-military system,” and its official history “was totally re-written,” according to AFP.

Also, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was expected to visit France on May 2 and 3, but this was postponed until further notice without reasons being mentioned for the delay, reported the French newspaper Le Figaro on April 18.

Some media outlets attributed the reasons behind the reinstatement of the national anthem to the issue of migration between the two countries, especially after the Republicans in the French National Assembly called for a revision of the Franco-Algerian agreement on immigration of 1968, which granted Algerian nationals special status when it comes to movement, residence and employment in France, according to AFP.