Government Palace (Algiers)

The Government Palace (Arabic: قصر الحكومة, French: Palais du Gouvernement), known before 1962 as Gouvernement général, is the office of the Prime Minister of Algeria and a major public building in Algiers. At the time of its inauguration in 1933, with a surface of 33,000 m2, it was the largest administrative building of the entire French state.

1. History

The project to build a new seat for the government of French Algeria was formulated in the context of the 100th anniversary of the Invasion of Algiers in 1830. The complex was built between 1929 and 1934 on a design by architect Jacques Guiauchain, the grandson of one of French Algeria's first colonial architects, Pierre Auguste Guiauchain, and eventually inaugurated in 1933. It encloses an entertainment and cinema venue, the salle des fêtes, which was built in 1929 and is now named after Ibn Khaldun. The building was ransacked by a mob on 13 May 1958, during the May 1958 crisis. On 4 June 1958, newly arrived Prime Minister of France Charles de Gaulle gave a major speech from the Government Palace's balcony, where he uttered the ambiguous sentence that immediately became iconic, Je vous ai compris ("I have understood you"). After the country's independence in 1962 following the Algerian War, the building became the office and residence of the Prime Minister of Algeria. It is also the home of the Algerian Ministry of the Interior and Local Communities.

1. Urban setting

The Government Palace crowns the Boulevard Mohamed-Khemisti, a monumental perspective created in the early 20th century on former military grounds, which also includes the Grande Poste d'Alger. The plaza or Forum in front of the Government Palace, formerly an open space but now closed to the public, overlooks Algiers with a broad view towards the sea. Bordering that forum is also the Central Library Arts And Culture, a public library. Just below it, in a public garden, stands the Memorial to the Liberation of Algeria.

1. See also

People's National Assembly building (Algiers) Palace of the Council of the Nation (Algiers) People's Palace (Algiers) El Mouradia Palace

1. Notes

Nearby Places View Menu

Icosium

Icosium (Punic: ʾY KSM, "Island of the Owls"; Ancient Greek: Ἰκόσιον, Ikósion) was a Phoenician and Punic settlement in modern-day Algeria. It was part of Numidia and later became an important Roman colony and an early medieval bishopric (now a Latin titular see) in the casbah area of modern Algiers.

Historic Site Landmark

Grande Poste d'Alger

The Algiers Central Post Office, (Arabic: بريد الجزائر المركزي, French: Grande Poste d'Alger) is a masterpiece of Neo-Moorish (or Jonnasrt) architecture and one of Algeria's most famous landmarks. Situated at the intersection of Boulevard Mohamed-Khemisti and Rue Larbi Ben M'hidi in the center of Algiers, it represents the city's intricate colonial past as well as its architectural development.

Government Landmark

Battle of Algiers (1956–1957)

The Battle of Algiers (also called the great repression of Algiers) was a campaign fought during the Algerian War. It consisted of urban guerrilla warfare and terrorist attacks carried out by the National Liberation Front (FLN) against the French authorities in Algiers, and by the French authorities, army, and French terrorist organizations against the FLN. Both sides targeted civilians throughout the battle. The conflict began with attacks by the FLN against the French forces and Pieds-Noirs (European settlers) followed by a terrorist attack on Algerian civilians in Algiers by a group of settlers, part of the terrorist group "La Main Rouge", aided by the police. Reprisals followed and the violence escalated, leading the French Governor-General to deploy the French Army in Algiers to suppress the FLN. Civilian authorities gave full powers to General Jacques Massu who, operating outside legal frameworks between January and September 1957, eliminated the FLN from Algiers. The use of torture, forced disappearances and illegal executions by the French later caused controversy in France.

Historic Site Landmark

351 m

Hacène Harcha Arena

Harcha Hassan Arena is an indoor sporting arena located in Algiers, Algeria. The capacity of the arena is 8,000 spectators. It hosts indoor sporting events such as Handball, Basketball, Volleyball and hosts the home matches of MC Alger. It also hosted many international competitions.

Basketball Stadium