English Rises in Algeria, While Paris Trembles in Denial

In recent years, Algeria has embarked on a deliberate and far-reaching linguistic transformation. English is gaining prominence across higher education, elementary schools, public administration, and even key state-owned enterprises. Far from being an impulsive reform, this transition reflects a strategic national vision — one that positions English as the global language of science, technology, and diplomacy. Algeria’s approach is not reactionary but progressive, rooted in the pursuit of competitiveness and intellectual sovereignty in a rapidly evolving world.

Yet, France’s political and media elite continue to interpret every Algerian decision through the outdated lens of colonial supervision. The narrative emerging from Paris reeks of paternalism disguised as concern, with commentators lamenting what they call Algeria’s “abandonment” of French, as though the former colony owed perpetual linguistic allegiance to its colonizer.

In a recent broadcast, CNews expressed alarm that Algerian universities — particularly in medicine and pharmacy — would begin teaching in English starting from the 2025–2026 academic year. The channel went so far as to frame this reform as part of a “national plan to liberate higher education from French linguistic domination.” Similarly, Le Monde characterized Algeria’s linguistic transition as a deeply political act — a “symbolic detachment” from France’s cultural orbit and an opening toward the Anglophone world.

What Paris refuses to acknowledge is that Algeria’s choice stems neither from hostility nor ideology, but from strategic pragmatism. The shift mirrors global realities where English has become the primary vehicle for innovation, research, and international cooperation. Even within France itself, the French language faces growing pressure from English — in universities, laboratories, and the private sector.

Despite this reality, the French right continues to frame Algeria’s evolution as an affront to its own identity. The statements of Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who in an interview with Le Figaro arrogantly described Algeria’s decision to expand English teaching as “a sign of cooling relations,” betray a colonial reflex — the belief that Algeria’s sovereignty must still be validated by French approval.

Experts note that this recurring French irritation reflects not confidence but deep instability within France’s political system, particularly among its right-wing elites, who remain unable to accept that Algeria has long outgrown the colonial relationship. Their indignation is the cry of a power witnessing its cultural grip collapse — in North Africa, in Africa at large, and increasingly within its own borders.

The French political class clings to the illusion that its language remains the uncontested medium of prestige in Algeria. Yet, the reality is clear: Algeria is redefining its linguistic landscape on its own terms — without permission, without apology, and without subordination. The shift to English is not a repudiation of French, but a normalization of linguistic relations — placing French where it belongs, as a foreign language among others, not a language of dominance.

The visible irritation in Paris, expressed through panicked headlines and ministerial remarks, is nothing but the pain of lost privilege. Algeria’s linguistic and educational reforms are reclaiming intellectual autonomy — the very autonomy that France has struggled, for decades, to accept.

As Algeria opens its classrooms, laboratories, and institutions to the language of the world, France stands before an uncomfortable truth: its influence, once taken for granted, is fading into history. The English alphabet, now etched across Algerian university boards, is not just a linguistic shift — it is the handwriting of sovereignty.

Source: 

https://www.elkhabar.com/nation/الإنجليزية-في-الجزائر-والوجع-في-باريس-265289