Hundreds of thousands shout "we're fed up" | Requests …

Hundreds of thousands of Algerians returned to the streets yesterday in a new demonstration to demand the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. "We will not stop as long as the regime will not fall, Bouteflika is going now," added loud cries against the army chief, General Ahmed Gaïd Salah, in power for 20 years, who suggested last week Article 102 of the Constitution to get out of the crisis. This move would disqualify the leader, who has been gravely ill since 2013, and temporarily give power to Senate President Abdelkader Bensalah, one of the most ardent supporters of the 82-year-old President Bouteflika. This option was immediately rejected by the opposition, which sees a trap for perpetuating the ruling party's ruling clique. Opposition leaders say they are determined to control the transition period without interference from the clan of the president.

Like previous Fridays, the marches took place in a festive and peaceful atmosphere, escorted by a large security device monitoring groups arriving mbadively in the center of Algiers from different parts of the city. There are no official figures for the moment, but security sources have referred to "hundreds of thousands of demonstrators" in Algiers and have not made exhaustive calculations in 36 of the 48 prefectures from the country.

This event is the sixth of the weekly demonstrations, which began Feb. 22 after Buteflika announced that he was standing for reelection for the fifth consecutive time. This announcement caused a political crisis and almost daily demonstrations, which forced him to give up his candidacy.

On March 11, after more than three weeks of demonstrations, Bouteflika announced that he would not choose a fifth consecutive term and that the presidential elections scheduled for April 18 would be replaced by a transition period overseen by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Inside Noureddin. Bedaui.

The proposal did not convince the mobilized, who returned to the streets the following Friday to denounce what they saw as a maneuver from the circle of power to maintain their privileges and stay in power.

In the following days, the National Liberation Front (FLN), which chairs Bouteflika and governs in Algeria since independence in 1962, and its ruling partner, the National Democratic Regroupement (RND), took part in the protests. Also unions and other social agents who refused to dialogue with the new prime minister to form a temporary national agreement government.

The demonstrations, supported by a large part of the police and the army, real factual power in the country, were joined this week by Ahmed Ouyahia, leader of the RND and Prime Minister four times with Bouteflika, and Ali Haddad , president of the employers' badociation. Algerian

Buteflika, 82, severely weakened by a cerebrovascular accident six years ago, has led the country for 20 years, a record for longevity. But a month after the end of his constitutional mandate, Buteflika's situation seems more and more compromised as he lost several allies this week, including the chief of the army staff, until 39, then the most faithful support of the president.

The protesters questioned yesterday insist unequivocally: they want the entire cabinet to leave, not just the head of state. "We're tired of power, we're tired of it!" Shouted the protesters. Amine, 45, arrived early in the morning from Bejaia, 180 km east of Algiers. "We are here to launch a last call to power: pack your bags and go!", He explained.

The protest of yesterday would be the "response of the people", according to El-Watan, one of the few papers to appear yesterday, a Muslim holiday. "The people do not ask: neither Gaid Salah nor Bensalah," said the president of the upper house, who would badume the presidency in case of departure of the head of state, the newspaper said.

The strong mobilization "means that the Algerians are determined to leave the entire system and that a real transition is launched", so the proposal of the military leader is not enough, according to the website. TSA information (All about Algeria, All about Algeria). Several opponents, such as the lawyer Mustapha Bouchachi or the LADDH, oppose the application of Article 102, the process providing for a time too short to guarantee transparent and free presidential elections. .