Algeria Police Constable Contest cheat sheet

Algeria is a People's Democratic Republic (République algérienne démocratique et populaire); the capital is Algiers (Al-Jazā'ir).

Independence from France was proclaimed on 5 July 1962, after the Evian Accords of 18 March 1962 and the referendum of 1 July 1962; Independence Day is 5 July, Revolution Day 1 November (1954).

Algeria is Africa's largest country by area (about 2.38 million km²); roughly four-fifths of the territory is Sahara desert.

Land borders: Tunisia and Libya (east), Niger, Mali, Mauritania (south), Morocco and Western Sahara (west); coastline on the Mediterranean Sea is about 1,200 km.

Main mountain ranges: the Tell Atlas and the Saharan Atlas, separated by the High Plateaus (Hauts Plateaux); the Hoggar (Ahaggar) massif lies in the far south, its highest point Mount Tahat (about 2,918 m).

Constitution of 2020: the President of the Republic is head of state, elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term, renewable once; the Prime Minister heads the government.

Parliament is bicameral: the People's National Assembly (Al-Majlis al-Sha'bi al-Watani, 407 seats) and the Council of the Nation (Majlis al-Umma, 174 seats); the Council of the Nation has a legislative role and one-third of its members are appointed by the President.

Wilayas (provinces) are the main administrative division, subdivided into daïras and communes (baladiyas); the wilaya is headed by a wali (governor) appointed by the President.

National symbols: the flag is green and white with a red crescent and star; the anthem is 'Kassaman'; the national day of remembrance for the revolution is 1 November.

Algeria is a member of the United Nations (since 1962), the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Union for the Mediterranean.

Algeria's economy is hydrocarbon-dominated: oil and natural gas provide the bulk of export earnings and state budget revenue; Sonatrach is the national oil and gas company.

The national currency is the Algerian dinar (DZD); the central bank is the Banque d'Algérie.

Major observances: 8 March (Women's Day), 1 May (Labour Day), 5 July (Independence Day), 1 November (Revolution Day); religious holidays follow the lunar calendar (Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Mawlid).

Algeria's population is over 45 million, with a young median age; most people live in the northern coastal belt, and internal migration toward cities is significant.

The African Union's headquarters is in Addis Ababa; the Arab League's is in Cairo; OPEC's is in Vienna - useful anchor facts for current-affairs questions.

Algeria has been a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (most recently 2024–2025) and plays a mediation role in Sahel and regional diplomacy.

Sport and culture: football (the national team, the Fennecs) is the most followed sport; raï and chaabi are major musical genres; Algiers hosted the 2022 Mediterranean Games.

Climate and environment: the north has a Mediterranean climate; the Sahara has extreme diurnal temperature swings; desertification and water stress are major policy issues.

Accord du participe passé avec 'être': the past participle agrees with the subject (elle est partie); with 'avoir' it agrees with a preceding direct object (les lettres que j'ai écrites).

Accord with 'avoir': no agreement when the direct object follows the verb (j'ai écrit les lettres) or when the object is indirect (je leur ai parlé).

Homophones to distinguish: 'a' (verb avoir) vs 'à' (preposition); 'ou' (or) vs 'où' (where); 'ce' (demonstrative) vs 'se' (reflexive); 'son' (possessive) vs 'sont' (verb être).

Subjunctive is required after expressions of necessity, doubt, emotion and certain conjunctions: il faut que tu viennes; bien que, avant que, pour que + subjunctive.

Passive voice: être + past participle + par/de; the agent is introduced by 'par' for an action and 'de' for a state or feeling (il est aimé de tous).

Reported speech: present → imperfect, passé composé → plus-que-parfait, future → conditional; time markers shift (aujourd'hui → ce jour-là, demain → le lendemain).

Connectors for argumentative writing: d'abord, ensuite, en outre, cependant, néanmoins, par conséquent, en conclusion.

Punctuation and typography in French: a space before ':', ';', '!', '?' and inside guillemets « … »; the apostrophe replaces a vowel before a vowel (l'école, qu'il).

Common administrative vocabulary: arrêté (order), décret (decree), requête (request), pièce jointe (attachment), soussigné (undersigned).

Arabic is written right to left; the alphabet has 28 letters, and letters connect in initial, medial, final and isolated forms.

Sun letters (حروف شمسية) assimilate the definite article: الشمس pronounced 'ash-shams'; moon letters (حروف قمرية) do not: القمر 'al-qamar'.

The definite article is ال (al-), prefixed and never separated; tanwīn (ـً ـٌ ـٍ) marks indefinite accusative, nominative and genitive endings.

Case system: nominative (رفع, ـُ), accusative (نصب, ـَ), genitive (جر, ـِ); the accusative also marks adverbs of time and place and direct objects.

Verb patterns: past (الماضي), present (المضارع), imperative (الأمر); the present is prefixed with أ، ن، ت، ي (the 'anaytu' letters) and takes case endings.

Broken plurals (جمع التكسير) change the internal vowel pattern (كتاب → كتب); sound plurals add ـون/ـين (masculine) or ـات (feminine).

Root system: most words derive from three-letter roots (ك-ت-ب gives كتاب، كاتب، مكتب، مكتوب).

Hamza forms: أ (on alif), إ (below alif), ؤ (on waw), ئ (on ya), ء (isolated); rules depend on the vowel context.

Formal register for official texts: passive voice, nominal sentences, and connectors such as بالإضافة إلى ذلك، ومن ثم، وبالتالي.

Percentages: a% of b = (a/100)×b; a price rising from 80 to 100 is a 25% increase but a fall from 100 to 80 is a 20% decrease.

Speed, distance, time: d = v × t; average speed = total distance ÷ total time (not the mean of speeds).

Work rates: if A finishes in x hours and B in y hours, together they take xy/(x+y) hours.

Fractions and proportions: cross-multiplication a/b = c/d ⇒ ad = bc; ratios must be reduced to the same unit first.

Areas and volumes: triangle ½×base×height; circle πr²; rectangle l×w; cylinder πr²h; the cube of side a has volume a³ and surface 6a².

Number series: test differences, ratios, alternating sub-series and squares/cubes before concluding a pattern.

Logic: a conditional 'if P then Q' is false only when P is true and Q is false; its contrapositive 'if not Q then not P' is equivalent.

Syllogism rule: two premises sharing a middle term yield a conclusion only when the middle term is distributed at least once; 'some' premises never yield a universal conclusion.

Averages: mean = sum ÷ count; the median is the middle value of an ordered list; the mode is the most frequent value.

The rule of law (État de droit) means public authorities are themselves bound by law, with independent courts, legality of administrative acts and equality before the law.

The 2020 Algerian Constitution guarantees fundamental rights: equality before the law without discrimination, freedom of conscience and opinion, freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, and the right to a fair trial.

Duties of the citizen include respecting the Constitution and laws, paying taxes, defending the country and the national territory, protecting public property and the environment, and fulfilling civic obligations.

The Constitution states that the family, society and the state protect the rights of the child, the elderly and vulnerable persons; education and health are public service obligations.

Judicial organisation: courts of first instance, courts of appeal, the Supreme Court (Cour suprême) for ordinary matters, and the Council of State (Conseil d'État) for administrative disputes; the Constitutional Court reviews constitutionality.

The judicial authority is independent and judges are bound only by the law; the President of the Republic is the guarantor of the Constitution.

Public administration principles: legality, continuity of public service, equality of users before the service, neutrality, and accountability.

Police ethics: lawful use of force only when necessary and proportionate, respect for human dignity, prohibition of torture, and the obligation to report violations.

Decentralisation: the commune (baladiya) is the basic territorial collectivity, governed by an elected People's Communal Assembly (APC).

Standard police recruitment tests usually include: endurance run (typically 1,000 m or 2,000 m), sprint (e.g. 100 m), push-ups, sit-ups and sometimes pull-ups or a jump test; exact standards vary by year and must be checked against the official notice.

Endurance training principle: progressive overload - increase weekly volume by about 10% to reduce injury risk; include one recovery week per month.

Aerobic base: target heart rate for moderate effort is roughly 64–76% of maximum heart rate, where maximum ≈ 220 − age.

Speed work: short repeated sprints (e.g. 6 × 60 m with full recovery) develop acceleration; tempo runs at comfortable pace build lactate tolerance.

Strength: push-ups and sit-ups are tested, so train the exact movement pattern; 3 sessions per week with 48 hours' recovery between sessions on the same muscle group.

Hydration and nutrition: drink before, during and after exercise; a pre-test meal should be carbohydrate-based and eaten 2–3 hours before effort; avoid unfamiliar food on test day.

Pre-test rules: sleep well the night before, warm up 10–15 minutes, avoid heavy training in the 48 hours before the test, and never take performance-enhancing substances.

Medical fitness: the recruitment medical examination checks vision, hearing, cardiovascular health, BMI and absence of chronic or infectious disease; declare all medical history honestly.

Common disqualifiers or delays: uncorrected vision problems, uncontrolled hypertension, recent fractures, and untreated dental or skin infections; treat minor conditions before the medical visit.