Darija (الدارجة; also transcribed (ad-)dārija (standard), derija or darja, which means "dialect" in Modern Standard Arabic) is the group of Arabic dialects spoken by Maghrebi Arabic speakers. It is only used for oral communication, with Modern Standard Arabic (الفصحى (al-)fuṣḥā), French, or other languages used for written communication. Darija has acquired the majority of its vocabulary from Classical Arabic, however it also includes significant overtones of Berber (Tamazight) substrates, as well as extensive borrowings from French, and to a lesser extent Castilian Spanish and even Italian (primarily in Libya) – the languages of the historical colonial occupiers of the Maghreb. Darija is mutually spoken and understood in the Maghreb countries, especially Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, but can often be unintelligible to speakers of other Arabic dialects. Darija continues to evolve by integrating new French or English words, notably in technical fields, or by replacing old French and Spanish ones with Standard Arabic words within some circles.

Jamel Debbouze (Arabic: جمال دبّوز‎; born 18 June 1975) is a French and Moroccan actor, comedian, and producer.

Debbouze was born in Paris, France, but his family, from Taza, moved back to Morocco the following year. They returned in 1979 and settled in Trappes in 1983, in the Paris region, where Debbouze spent the rest of his childhood. He is the eldest of his siblings: Mohamed, Hayat, Karim, Rachid and Nawel Debbouze.

On 17 January 1990, at the train station in Trappes, he was struck by a passing train travelling at 150 km/h. He lost the use of his right arm, while another young man, Jean-Paul Admette, the son of the singer from Reunion Michel Admette, died. Debbouze was sued by the victim’s family for manslaughter but the case was dismissed by lack of proof, most of the witnesses retracting. In December 2004, while he was going to perform on a Reunion stage, Debbouze cancelled, claiming illness, while Michel Admette’s parents had organized a demonstration against his arrival.

In 1995, he was spotted by the bosses of Radio Nova, Jacques Massadian and Jean-François Bizot, who made him famous (Jacques Massadian would become his manager). He debuted on Radio Nova, with a film review show, Le Cinéma de Jamel and on television around 1996-1997 on cable channel Paris Première, in a TV show co-produced by Radio Nova and the channel. He took Le Cinéma de Jamel to television on Canal+ in 1998. On the same channel, he contributed to another show, H, along Éric Judor and Ramzy Bedia.

Gad Elmaleh (born April 19, 1971) is a French-Moroccan stand-up comedian and actor. His latest show is called Papa est en haut (Dad is upstairs). He has starred in several feature films, including Coco, Hors de prix, La Doublure and Midnight in Paris.

Elmaleh was born in Casablanca, Morocco. He is Jewish and was brought up in a mixed cultural background, speaking Moroccan Arabic and French. He earned his Baccalaureate in Morocco at Lycee Lyautey in Casablanca before he studied political science in Montreal for four years, then moved to Paris to study drama.

His first one-man show Décalages, performed at the "Palais des glaces" in 1997, was autobiographical.^{[citation needed]}

Elmaleh's first contact with cinema was the full-length film, Salut cousin ! by Merzak Allouache. He later appeared in L'homme est une femme comme les autres and Train de Vie.

His fame further increased with the success of his second one-man show, La Vie Normale, and the film La Vérité si je mens ! 2 (2000) in which he played the role of "Dov", the seducer. The character of "Chouchou" in La Vie Normale was reproduced in the comedy Chouchou (2002), directed by Merzak Allouache and also starring Alain Chabat; the film drew large audiences.^{[citation needed]}. He then did his debut as a singer in "it's kiz my life", a popular song in a non-existing language. The music video was directed by J.G Biggs and shot in the famous Parisian Hôtel Costes.