[2][4][5] The riots indirectly led to the fall of the country's one-party system (Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) party had been in power since 1962) and the introduction of democratic reform, but also to a spiral of instability and increasingly vicious political conflict, ultimately fostering the Algerian Civil War.
The rising prices, the high rate of unemployment among youth, and austerity measures announced by the government fed the desire to express their discontent.
[8] In light of the continuous reduction in fuel prices, a significant source of income for the country, it is evident how the link between an economic downturn and the outburst of protests is formed.
With no evident sign of economic progress in sight, the youth, most of them from low-income neighborhoods, took to the streets to advocate for their basic human right—an equal chance to succeed in life.
Despite President Chadli's speech on 10 October in which he announced the government's plan to proceed with the widely unpopular austerity measures, and price reductions for necessities, the riots came to a halt that evening.
Similarly, the lawyers who supported the young men argued that the riots were a result of the lack of formal avenues to freely and peacefully express their frustrations.
[5] The targets of the anarchic protests included shops, offices, official vehicles, and buildings - which were set on fire[1][10][11] — Air Algeria agencies, buses, road signs and other symbols of the state, any automobile that looked expensive, and the expensive Riad al Fath shopping mall on the heights overlooking the capital.
[13] In general, the riots were directed at the increasing social despair – to a large extent, the result of oil prices dropping sharply the preceding years – and at the slow pace of economic and political reform.
[16][17] Similarly, Chapter 2 which dedicated fifteen articles to explaining the government's commitment to socialism is completely removed.