On May 1, 2025, France witnessed massive demonstrations organized by labor unions to mark May Day. Hundreds of thousands of citizens took to the streets in various French cities, especially Paris, to express their social and economic demands. Although these demonstrations included slogans against the far right, the primary focus was on issues such as improved wages, the defense of civil liberties, and social justice.
However, some official media outlets in Algeria provided biased coverage of these events, focusing on the anti-far-right movement, while ignoring the social and economic demands at the heart of the demonstrations. This media coverage distorts reality and aims to divert attention from Algeria's internal issues, particularly those related to trade union freedoms.
In Algeria, independent trade unionists face severe repression by the authorities, accused of terrorism simply for exercising their right to organize and express themselves. For example, trade union activist Ali Mammeri, president of the National Union of Cultural Employees, was arrested in March 2025 and charged with terrorism under Article 87 bis of the penal code, which is frequently used to level broad and vague charges to suppress activists and unionists.
Trade unionist Ramzi Dardar was also arrested in June 2021 and charged with terrorism related to social media posts. Although he was later acquitted, he remains banned from travel and participating in international trade union activities.
These cases demonstrate the Algerian authorities' use of terrorism charges as a means to suppress trade union freedoms and silence dissent, in flagrant violation of fundamental rights guaranteed by international conventions, including ILO conventions on freedom of association.
The Algerian media's attempt to distort the demands of the demonstrations in France is an attempt to divert attention from the repression of unionists in Algeria and demonstrates a double standard in dealing with union freedoms. While freedom issues are highlighted abroad, they are suppressed at home.
In this context, the President of the Confederation, Brother Raouf Malal, stated the following:
The Confederation of Trade Unions of Productive Forces (COSYFOP) calls on the international community and human rights organizations to pressure the Algerian authorities to respect their international obligations, stop using terrorism charges to suppress trade unionists, and immediately release all those detained for their union activities. Defending trade union freedoms must be a constant principle, applied at home as well as demanded abroad.
In this context, we express our full solidarity with our union colleagues in France and our deep admiration for the remarkable organizational and mobilization capacity they demonstrated during the May Day demonstrations, which embodied a vibrant popular consciousness in the face of anti-social policies that undermine economic rights and human dignity. We also hope that this dynamic will serve as a source of inspiration for the Algerian working class, and we call on workers in our country to rally around independent unions and unite in the face of all forms of exploitation and oppression, in order to build a genuine social movement that defends rights and justice.
Defending trade union freedoms must be a constant principle, applied at home as well as demanded abroad.
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