Anti-bouteflika strikes hit Algeria’s schools, transport
ALGIERS: Thousands of students took to the streets of Algeria on Sunday against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term, as schools shut and transport in the capital halted as part of a protest strike.
Thousands of Algerian-origin protesters demonstrated in Paris and other cities around France against Bouteflika, calling on him not to seek another term in office.
Several thousand gathered for the second weekend in a row at the Republique square in central Paris, while there were other smaller demonstrations in regional cities Marseille and Bordeaux.
Meanwhile, an Algerian government plane that was expected to fly Bouteflika back to Algiers took off from Geneva’s Cointrin airport on Sunday.
Bouteflika was expected to return to Algeria after two weeks in a Swiss hospital as he faces mass protests that threaten to end his 20-year rule.
A Reuters correspondent saw the plane take off.
No trains, metros, trams or buses left or circulated within Algiers, employees of the companies running those networks said.
Around 1,000 high school students gathered peacefully in central Algiers, while others marched in cities elsewhere.
Bouteflika has been in power since 1999 but suffered a stroke in 2013, and his rare public appearances since have been in a wheelchair.
His announcement on February 10 that he will run in next month’s elections has provoked weeks of protests, with tens of thousands taking to the streets after weekly prayers on consecutive Fridays.
Most shops in the capital’s commercial centre were closed on Sunday, an AFP journalist said.
Residents said shops were also closed in the poor district of Bab el Oued and in the suburb of Zeralda, but they were open in other areas.
As protests have gained pace over the past two weeks, Bouteflika has been in Switzerland for what his office has called routine medical checks.
On Sunday the government plane that transported him to Geneva returned to the Swiss city, although officials have not announced whether it is set to repatriate the 82-year-old leader.