Algeria criticizes Morocco instead of addressing French media coverage of its presidential election

«Is Algeria heading towards a postponement of the presidential election?» RFI asked on February 19. «With less than ten months before the vote, the political climate remains uncertain, and the issue is largely absent from Algerian media. No specific date has been announced, and the government maintains uncertainty over the elections», noted the French media.

However, instead of directly addressing RFI's inquiry, Algeria's official press agency (APS) responded after a week with a surprising reaction. Instead of engaging with the question, APS opted to attack Morocco, employing language described by Le Matin d'Algérie as «unprecedented, not to mention shocking».

The statement, using language echoing nationalist social media accounts, «in no way responds to a dispatch from a public press agency», Le Matin d'Algérie observes. «The APS could have chosen another style worthy of a a press agency, writing a well-argued dispatch to deconstruct propaganda without resorting to such low tactics», the newspaper laments.