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History Illustrated: Ghost of the Algerian war

The many years France spent as a colonial power in Algeria has shaped its relationship to the North African nation today.

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Ghost of the Algerian war
Published On 4 Jul 2023

History Illustrated is a weekly series of insightful perspectives that puts news events and current affairs into historical context using graphics generated with artificial intelligence.

Ghost of the Algerian war
Rarely, if ever, has colonisation been as brutal as it was when France invaded Algeria in 1830 and then refused to leave for the next 132 years.
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Ghost of the Algerian war
In that time, the French massacred Algerian civilians, used torture, conducted summary executions and tested 17 nuclear bombs in the Sahara.
Ghost of the Algerian war
In May 1945, Algerians staged protests to demand an end to colonial rule. The French responded by killing an estimated 45,000 civilians.
Ghost of the Algerian war
Then, in 1954, the National Liberation Front, the FLN, started a guerilla war for independence.
Two years later, the FLN launched the battle of Algiers, employing novel urban warfare tactics later studied by several liberation movements in the world.
Two years later, the FLN launched the battle of Algiers, employing novel urban warfare tactics later studied by several liberation movements around the world.
Ghost of the Algerian war
On October 17, 1961, the FLN staged a peaceful demonstration in Paris to call for an end to colonial rule. The French authorities there killed up to 300 Algerians, who were shot, beaten, tortured or drowned in the Seine.
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Ghost of the Algerian war
French President Charles de Gaule was eventually forced to sign the Evian Accords to end a war that had killed as many as 1.5 million Algerians. On July 3, 1962, France recognised Algeria’s independence
Ghost of the Algerian war
What France never did was apologise. A report in 2021, commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron, recommended a “memories and truth” commission but no apology.
Ghost of the Algerian war
Macron’s stand on Algeria in many ways mirrors the one taken by his far-right opposition, led by Marine Le Pen, who has said some pretty outrageous things. And so, Algerians can be forgiven for thinking they may never hear an apology.