Hundreds of thousands of demostrators rallied in Algiers, Algerias state capital for an eighth successive Friday to demand the departure of the ruling elite, witnesses said, as Algeria prepares for a presidential election in July.

Police in anti-riot gear fired tear gas in the evening to disperse a crowd of several hundreds of youths in the city centre, witnesses said, after an otherwise largely peaceful march joined by families throughout the day.

Police arrested 108 people after clashes with "infiltrators" among the protesters who injured 27 policemen, a police statement said.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stepped down after 20 years in power 10 days ago, bowing to pressure from the army and weeks of demonstrations mainly by young people seeking change in the North African country.

But the protests, which began on Feb. 22 and have been largely peaceful, have continued as many want the removal of an elite that has governed Algeria since independence from France in 1962 and the prosecution of people they see as corrupt figures.