France urges Algeria to respect fundamental freedoms

France on Friday urged Algerian authorities to respect the fundamental freedoms and rights to peaceful marches and expression after preventing a manifestation of opposition before the presidential elections.

“We want freedom of the press and of expression must be respected in Algeria,” said the spokesman of the French Foreign Ministry Nadalm Romain, who added that the peaceful demonstration “one of the fundamental freedoms.”

On Wednesday, the Algerian police banned the opposition demonstration calling for a boycott of the presidential election scheduled for April 17 in which the current president Abdelaziz Bouteflika is seeking a fourth term despite uncertainty about its ability to govern the largest oil producer in North Africa after suffering a stroke last year.