 In July 1944, 1500 malgré-nous were released from Soviet captivity and sent to Algiers, where they joined the Free French Forces.Today, the territory is in certain areas subject to some laws that are significantly different from the rest of France – this is known as the local law.In more recent years, the Alsatian language is again being promoted by local, national, and European authorities as an element of the region's identity.