Le Point and Algeria's 'military delirium': when the rearmament of others is a virtue, that of Algeria is a scandal

Y. Bensalem — Alger, Algérie — 2026-11-02

The 'former colony' and its 'delirium'

Let us begin with the vocabulary, for it betrays everything. Le Point does not say 'Algeria': it says 'the former French colony'. It does not say 'national defense': it says 'military delirium'. It does not say 'army': it says 'spooks'. The lexicon is not that of journalism: it is that of colonial prejudice, which looks upon the former colony as a child playing at soldier. And like every prejudice, it needs a mirror: France, for its part, never 'raves' — it 'asserts its sovereignty'. But let France remember: these 'children' it looked down upon, these soldiers it believed were 'playing', defeated it — and threw it out. The army it despises today is that of a people that has already defeated it once, in 1962, at the end of one hundred and thirty-two years of colonization. France has never digested this defeat. That is why it still speaks of Algeria with the contempt of the vanquished who refuses his defeat.

The rearmament of others is a virtue

Let us do the math, and it is edifying. Since the invasion of Ukraine, France has decreed massive rearmament — a 'war economy', military budgets rising vertiginously, military programming laws in the tens of billions. And this, Le Point approves: it is 'sovereignty', the 'defense of Europe'. French rearmament is a virtue; Algerian rearmament becomes a scandal. The same spending, the same right to defend oneself — but two weights, two measures. One is a State securing itself, the other is a 'regime' that 'raves'.

Projection, again and again

And here is the most worn trick in the trade. Le Point attributes to Algeria a 'delirium of imminent invasion'. But who, in the western Mediterranean, has actually lived through invasion? Algeria, which endured one hundred and thirty-two years of colonization, is preparing no invasion: it is preparing its defense, facing a neighbor that has rearmed to the teeth with drones, aircraft and the blessing of Washington, Paris and Tel Aviv. Morocco rearms: no one speaks of 'delirium'. Algeria defends itself: it is a 'headlong flight forward'. That is projection: attributing to the other the danger one shelters at home.

Sovereignty has a price

And since Le Point likes accounting, let us do it. Algeria pays, alone, out of its own pocket, for the protection of its interests — all the way to Niger, where its army establishes its presence without holding out its hand to anyone. France, for its part, no longer deploys a battalion without asking permission from Europe and NATO. The reason comes down to one figure: more than 3 trillion euros of debt, that is more than 100% of its GDP. When your debt exceeds your wealth, you no longer move a single soldier alone: you move him with the backing of your creditors. Jealousy has a price — that of sovereignty. And sovereignty is lost the day one must borrow to defend one's own interest. Algeria pays; France borrows. And whoever borrows its defense no longer owns its freedom.

The conclusion

Le Point may go on cooing 'delirium', 'spooks', 'former colony'. Let it coo — it is all it has left. Every insult is a confession: that of a country that lost the Algerian war and re-enacts it every week in its columns, for want of having digested it. France had one hundred and thirty-two years to prove its 'superiority'. It ended up outside, in 1962. And ever since, it writes articles to console itself.

Let Le Point hear this clearly: Algeria is not afraid of a '1962 bis'. We have already beaten France once — against the first army of Europe, with our bare hands, without creditors. We are ready to do it again if the urge takes it. Not that we seek war: we do not flee it, and the last time, it was France that packed its bags. Sovereignty is not begged for: it is paid for. Algeria pays for it alone, without NATO, without Europe, without creditors. Le Point, for its part, pays for its contempt — and its reader pays the bill. For Algeria has Allah and her children — and she counts on no one else to remain standing.