As of 1978, a large proportion of Algerians still remained francophone; to many it was still a lingua franca, often used with pride as a sign of education. As the correspondent of The Times wrote after President Giscard's simple but moving welcome by Boumedienne in 1975, the first time the Marseillaise had been played at an official Algerian ceremony in thirteen years: "France and Algeria are like an old couple who have been married many years, had a tremendous bust up, divorce, and then decide to make up. Emotion will never be altogether absent from their relationship; it will never be completely straightforward."

Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Alge…, loc. 1684