Algeria protesters call for 'new revolution' on independence anniversary

Demonstrators converged on Algiers in their thousands for a massive anti-government rally called to coincide with official celebrations of the anniversary of the war that won Algeria's independence from France.

Several thousand protesters had gathered at the Grande Poste building in downtown Algiers by early afternoon.

"Algeria will take back its independence" and "The people want their independence", protesters chanted, already numbering more than have been turning out weekly at the same time for 37 consecutive Fridays.

Algerian social media was flooded with calls to fill the streets of the capital on Friday to mark the 65th anniversary of the start of the independence war in 1954 and demand a "new revolution".

Police were deployed in force, blocking protesters on an avenue near the Grande Poste and making several arrests in the morning, according to witnesses.

The Algiers metro was closed and all trains to the capital cancelled, apparently to keep numbers down.

Weekly demonstrations have taken place in Algiers and other parts of the country since February 22, forcing longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign at the beginning of April.

But demonstrations have not waned, instead turning their attention on the whole regime and amping up calls for an overhaul of the political system in place since 1962.

November 1 is a national holiday in Algeria to commemorate the start of the war that led to the North African country's independence after 132 years of French colonial rule.

Calls to join protests on Friday have drawn parallels between the fight for independence launched on November 1, 1954 and the current demonstrations.

"History is repeating itself," one flier reads.

"November 1, 1954-2019. The 48 provinces in the capital to remember the start of the glorious liberation revolution."