French President Jacques Chirac has received a rapturous welcome from hundreds of thousands of Algerians at the start of the first official state visit by a French leader since the country's independence in 1962.
French security officials put the crowd figures at around 500,000, but Algerian security sources said about 1.5 million turned out on Sunday, French news agency AFP reported.
[...]
Ships in the city harbour also blasted their horns, women sang in the streets and people threw confetti at the French president, while others chanted "Visas, visas" in reference to hopes that more Algerians would be permitted to work in France. [And with unemployment at 8-10% as it's been for over a decade, France would be so eager to see them,too.--J.T.]
President Chirac - who served as a second lieutenant in the French army during the independence campaign - is spending three days in the country, along with a delegation of leading business people, including the heads of corporate giants TotalFinaElf, Alstom and Airbus, as well as French cultural figures.
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The two countries have endured difficult relations since Algeria forced [out] its French rulers, ending more than a century of control by Paris.
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He will also discuss Algeria's home-grown Islamic militant movement, which has been a source of terrorist activities in Europe and North America.
Since 1992, Islamic militants have been trying to topple the Algerian Government and set up an Islamic state.
They have massacred soldiers and civilians, while government forces have also been accused of widespread human rights abuses. About 120,000 people have died in the conflict.
Rights groups are calling for President Chirac to raise the subject of thousands of Algerians who "disappeared" at the hands of Algerian security forces in the 1990s, when the insurgency was at its bloodiest.
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About two million people of Algerian origin live in France, which has declared 2003 the "Year of Algeria" with a series of concerts and exhibitions about North African culture.
Chiraq's ego and ambition obviously know no bounds.
I don't know what he's up to with this--perhaps it's to appease and mollify those 2 million with Algerian "roots" back home and to help the other French people "feel better" about their Arab citizens whom they call "ratons" (which means "rats" in English!).
Between this "state" visit, sending troops into the Ivory Coast and leading their peace talks (which aren't working, BTW) and hosting Mugabe of Zimbabwe as a "honored guest" in Paris, I'd say that Chiraq has major ambitions for France in Africa.
Where else can he get this kind of reception? He'd better enjoy it while he can.
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