 He was a friend of many Algerian writers (such as Mohammed Dib and Kateb Yacine) and, like Jean Sénac, Pélégri considered himself to be one of them; he always saw himself as an "Algerian at heart".He supplemented his novels' prefaces with artwork from his painter friends Baya, Abdallah Benanteur, Mohammed Khadda and Jean de Maisonseul.Pélégri also assisted on the film adaptation of his novel "Les Oliviers de la justice" as screenwriter, dialogue writer and actor.