Memorial to the Liberation of Algeria

It was designed in 1978 by Algerian visual artist M'hamed Issiakhem, as Algiers was preparing to host the 1978 All-Africa Games.

The memorial incorporates an earlier sculpted group from the French colonial era, formerly known as the monument aux morts or Le Pavois (referring to a shield used to carry somebody on high), no longer visible but still extant beneath a concrete casing.

Le Pavois was designed by architects Maurice Gras et Édouard Monestès [fr] and sculptors Paul Landowski and Charles Bigonet [fr], winners of the public design competition in 1920, and inaugurated on 11 November 1928.

[2] Additional figures included two women and two old men on the monument's back, intended to symbolize the emotional ties between the diverse communities of French Algeria.

[3] Issiakhem's design was a conscious endeavor to preserve the French colonial monument, which also honored the suffering of Algerian fighters, while removing it from public view.