Algeria bans French aid to private schools amid rising tension

Amidst heightened political tension with France, Algeria has banned all French aid to private schools in the country.

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An Algerian media outlet, TSA, reported on Monday that the government has directed private schools to stop accepting financial or other support from France.

For years, schools in Algeria have received development funding from France as part of France’s efforts to promote the French language and culture abroad.

This is a common practice in former French colonies, where France provided financial aid, teacher training, and educational materials to schools that taught in French or followed the French curriculum. Both public and private schools have received aid. It has also funded scholarships for Algerian students studying in France.

For instance, in 2022, France allocated €132 million to Algeria as official development assistance. Then, in February 2025, it set aside €121 million for scholarships for Algerian students in France.

France has always provided funding for scholarships, scientific research, and cooperation programs through the French Embassy and the French Institute in Algeria.

Suspension of French curriculum

However, due to the growing dispute between both countries, the Algerian government has begun suspending the decades-long arrangement.

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In October 2023, the government ordered private schools to suspend the use of the French curriculum and teach only in Algerian national curriculum.

Before then, private schools in Algeria followed the French curriculum and even prepared students for French exams. However, Algeria’s authorities argued that just as Algerian schools cannot teach their curriculum abroad without agreements, foreign curriculums shouldn’t be taught in Algeria’s schools unless officially approved.

The government has also begun introducing English as a language in primary schools. Previously, French had been the only foreign language taught in schools.

Meanwhile, Algeria’s decision to stop development aid to private schools is also considered a response to the call from France’s right wing to suspend funding to the country.

Impact on diplomatic ties

This new directive is likely to distance Algeria from France and increase tension between them. It also further weakens France’s soft power in Africa and among its former colonies.

Although issues from their colonial past caused the prolonged dispute between the countries, the contention heightened after French President Emmanuel Macron shifted France’s position by recognising Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara as the “only basis” for resolving the conflict.

The Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, located between Morocco, Mauritania, and Algeria.

Morocco’s autonomy plan proposes that Western Sahara remain under Moroccan sovereignty but have some self-rule, allowing local governance while Morocco retains ultimate authority.

By backing Morocco’s claim over the region, France angered Algeria, which has always supported the Sahrawi people’s right to decide their future.

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In November 2024, Algeria responded by instructing banks to suspend financial transactions with French companies – a move that disrupted trade between the two nations.

Also, the tension was worsened by Algeria’s refusal to accept the return of undocumented Algerian migrants from France on the grounds that their deportation was illegal.