1962 : FRENCH-ALGERIAN TRUCE:
On March 18, 1962, France and the leaders of the Front de Liberation
Nationale (FLN) sign a peace agreement to end the seven-year Algerian
War, signaling the end of 130 years of colonial French rule in
Algeria.
In late October 1954, a faction of young Algerian Muslims established
the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) as a guerrilla organization
dedicated to winning independence from France. They staged several
bloody uprisings during the next year, and by 1956 the FLN was
threatening to overrun the colonial cities, home to Algeria's sizable
European settler population. In France, a new administration, led by
Guy Mollet, promised to quell the Muslim rebellion and sent 500,000
French troops to Algeria to crush the FLN.
To isolate the rebels and their area of operations, France granted
Tunisia and Morocco independence, and their borders with Algeria were
militarized with barbed wire and electric fencing. When FLN leaders
attempted to travel to Tunisia in October 1956 to discuss the Algerian
War, French forces diverted their plane and jailed the men. In
response, the FLN launched a new campaign of terrorism in the colonial
capital of Algiers. General Jacques Massu, head of France's crack
parachute unit, was given extraordinary powers to act in the city, and
through torture and assassination the FLN presence in Algiers was
destroyed. By the end of 1957, the rebels had been pushed back into
rural areas, and it seemed the tide had turned in the Algerian War.
However, in May 1958, a new crisis began when European Algerians
launched massive demonstrations calling for the integration of Algeria
with France and for the return of Charles de Gaulle to power. In
France, the Algerian War had seriously polarized public opinion, and
many feared the country was on the brink of army revolt or civil war.
On June 1, de Gaulle, who had served as leader of France after World
War II, was appointed prime minister by the National Assembly and
authorized to write a new national constitution.
Days after returning to power, de Gaulle visited Algiers, and though
he was warmly welcomed by the European Algerians he did not share
their enthusiasm for Algerian integration. Instead, he granted Muslims
the full rights of French citizenship and in 1959 declared publicly
that Algerians had the right to determine their own future. During the
next two years, the worst violence in Algeria was perpetrated by
European Algerians rather than the FLN, but scattered revolts and
terrorism did not prevent the opening of peace negotiations between
France and the FLN-led provisional government of the Algerian Republic
in 1961.
On March 16, 1962, a peace agreement was signed at Evian-les-Bains,
France, promising independence for Algeria pending a national
referendum on the issue. French aid would continue, and Europeans
could return to their native countries, remain as foreigners in
Algeria, or take Algerian citizenship. On July 1, 1962, Algerians
overwhelmingly approved the agreement, and most of the one million
Europeans in Algeria poured out of the country. More than 100,000
Muslim and 10,000 French soldiers were killed in the seven-year
Algerian War, along with thousands of Muslim civilians and hundreds of
European colonists.
history.com/tdih.do
1766 : Parliament repeals the Stamp Act
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4843
1834 : Tolpuddle Martyrs banished to Australia
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4844
1925 : The Tri-State Tornado
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4845
#######################################
Nationale (FLN) sign a peace agreement to end the seven-year Algerian
War, signaling the end of 130 years of colonial French rule in
Algeria.
In late October 1954, a faction of young Algerian Muslims established
the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) as a guerrilla organization
dedicated to winning independence from France. They staged several
bloody uprisings during the next year, and by 1956 the FLN was
threatening to overrun the colonial cities, home to Algeria's sizable
European settler population. In France, a new administration, led by
Guy Mollet, promised to quell the Muslim rebellion and sent 500,000
French troops to Algeria to crush the FLN.
To isolate the rebels and their area of operations, France granted
Tunisia and Morocco independence, and their borders with Algeria were
militarized with barbed wire and electric fencing. When FLN leaders
attempted to travel to Tunisia in October 1956 to discuss the Algerian
War, French forces diverted their plane and jailed the men. In
response, the FLN launched a new campaign of terrorism in the colonial
capital of Algiers. General Jacques Massu, head of France's crack
parachute unit, was given extraordinary powers to act in the city, and
through torture and assassination the FLN presence in Algiers was
destroyed. By the end of 1957, the rebels had been pushed back into
rural areas, and it seemed the tide had turned in the Algerian War.
However, in May 1958, a new crisis began when European Algerians
launched massive demonstrations calling for the integration of Algeria
with France and for the return of Charles de Gaulle to power. In
France, the Algerian War had seriously polarized public opinion, and
many feared the country was on the brink of army revolt or civil war.
On June 1, de Gaulle, who had served as leader of France after World
War II, was appointed prime minister by the National Assembly and
authorized to write a new national constitution.
Days after returning to power, de Gaulle visited Algiers, and though
he was warmly welcomed by the European Algerians he did not share
their enthusiasm for Algerian integration. Instead, he granted Muslims
the full rights of French citizenship and in 1959 declared publicly
that Algerians had the right to determine their own future. During the
next two years, the worst violence in Algeria was perpetrated by
European Algerians rather than the FLN, but scattered revolts and
terrorism did not prevent the opening of peace negotiations between
France and the FLN-led provisional government of the Algerian Republic
in 1961.
On March 16, 1962, a peace agreement was signed at Evian-les-Bains,
France, promising independence for Algeria pending a national
referendum on the issue. French aid would continue, and Europeans
could return to their native countries, remain as foreigners in
Algeria, or take Algerian citizenship. On July 1, 1962, Algerians
overwhelmingly approved the agreement, and most of the one million
Europeans in Algeria poured out of the country. More than 100,000
Muslim and 10,000 French soldiers were killed in the seven-year
Algerian War, along with thousands of Muslim civilians and hundreds of
European colonists.
history.com/tdih.do
1766 : Parliament repeals the Stamp Act
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4843
1834 : Tolpuddle Martyrs banished to Australia
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4844
1925 : The Tri-State Tornado
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4845
#######################################
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