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's culture ministry has shed French as the language of official correspondence, as ties between the country and its former colonial power continue to stagnate.

Culture minister Soraya Mouloudji ordered on 30 March that Arabic replace French as the language of official correspondence for the ministry, according to the  posted to Facebook on Saturday.

for much of the six decades since the former French colony won its independence after a 130-year occupation.

Ties collapsed in October after French president  accused Algeria's "political-military system" of rewriting history and fomenting "hatred towards France".

That same month, Algeria's youth and sports, vocational education and training, and labour ministries banned the use of French in their official correspondence.

Paris decided to last September.

Algeria's national languages are Arabic and , but most ministries use French in their correspondence and statements.

Campaigners in Algeria's neighbour state Morocco, a former protectorate of France, have called for Rabat to in favour of English.