President Bouteflika in France for 'regular medical tests', Presidency says

The President of the Republic, Mr Abdelaziz Bouteflika, has left for France for a brief routine medical check-up, the Presidency of the Republic said in a statement issued on Thursday.

It said in the statement that President Bouteflika, 78, was making “a short, private visit during which he will undergo regular medical tests under the supervision of his doctors”, without specifying the location in France

President Bouteflika has visited France on several occasions for medical checkups since his illness in early 2013.

Moreover, this statement did not specify the number of days that the President of the Republic will spend in France, nor provided details on his health, especially after the string of rumors that have punctuated the national political scene lately.

Fortunately, the rumors about the worsening of the head of state’s disease or his purported presence in Switzerland were quickly dispelled by his latest pictures on television, showing him alongside those personalities he received in audience and also by the manifold messages he sent to foreign leaders.

In this respect, this was also confirmed by the Prime Minister, Abdelmalek Sellal himself, certifying that President Abdellaziz Bouteflika had not left the country recently.

“The President’s health is stable and I am in daily contact with him, adding that President Bouteflika closely and carefully follows all the current issues and that all important decisions stem from his own authority”, Mr Sellal underscored.