In Paris, Algeria’s diaspora is voting in a parliamentary election that is being shadowed by a boycott of the Hirak protest movement and a worsening economic crisis.

Saturday’s poll comes as authorities seek to bolster their legitimacy and weaken the Hirak.

Back in 2019, the Hirak mobilised hundreds of thousands to force longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika into resignation, after he launched a bid for a fifth term.

It has urged boycotts of all national votes since then. A presidential election 18 months ago, won by Abdelmadjid Tebboune, attracted a turnout of less than 40 percent, even according to official figures.

Last month, the International Crisis Group said Algeria’s situation had “deteriorated”, noting that the authorities had “stepped up repression” against Hirak supporters ahead of the polls, “quashing demonstrations and arresting scores”.

Tebboune’s government claims to have responded to the Hirak’s main demands “in record time” and dismisses them as “counter-revolutionaries” in the pay of “foreign parties” hostile to Algeria.

For the protest movement, Tebboune’s status as a former prime minister under Bouteflika dovetails into its narrative that the old guard remains unashamedly at the helm.