Ali, taxi driver, 54 years old

You have to evolve, we have done so little for so many years. Look at what technology allows us to do today, look at Tokyo, New York, Dubai. Soon [thanks to the Medina project], the centre of Algiers will no longer be over there [pointing to the centre of the capital], but here, with offices, housing and entertainment...You get bored in Algiers, there is nothing to do, other than going to the cafe.


How old is Algiers? More than 100 years old? It was of course the French who built it and they stayed for 132 years. Now, it is time for us to add our touch. The big projects launched by the president have not yet produced any results for the young unemployed, but all the same, they are not yet completed. In four or five years, we will begin to see their fruits. It is so that he can finish that we are going to give him a third mandate! 


He [Bouteflika] also reduced terrorism with a policy of national reconciliation, even if it was not perfect and many terrorists were not punished. Someone had to put a stop to it. We were killing people in our own families. Whether it was a police officer or a terrorist, when he was killed, he was part of our family and we all suffered the loss...


You want me to tell you that we could have sought another president? Well, we could have found one. Go ahead and look, you will not find a statesman of his stature in Algeria, one with great capacities in politics, economics, foreign affairs... That is true also because it is difficult to find a head above the parapet with this regime. Anyway, Bouteflika said himself that he was preparing his own replacement.

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