Who was responsible for Algeria's plight?

Algeria was once a colony of France and finally the Algerians fought back to write their own destiny. Algerian War for Independence was fought from 1954 to 1962 by multiple parties with different ideologies. The clash of these ideologies caused an explosion of violence that killed thousands. France, Pied Noir, and The National Liberation Front (FLN) were the key parties during the Algerian War for Independence. Each party inflicted violence on Algerian citizens causing mass havoc and lots of bloodshed. It is important to note, however, that one crucial party involved in this was a long-standing nation: France. France was and is a powerful country that claimed many colonies yet it was acting like the aggressive and negligent colonies that it claims. France is responsible for the violence that ensued and the impact that the aggression left. The reason for the Pied Noir’s existence was to support and fight for France’s rule in Algeria and it was France’s responsibility to alleviate the aggression in Algeria.

On May 8, 1945, Muslims began to protest in Algeria against French rule. The protest resulted in hundreds of pied noir deaths. Pied Noir translates to “black feet” and this was the term that classified white settlers in Algeria. The Pied Noir were French sympathizers that were supportive of French rule. In retaliation to the protest, French armies murdered between 1,000 to 45,000 Muslims (Hitchen). This starting point of the revolution is one example of the irresponsible tactics that France used during this time.

France’s reckless entanglement with Algeria continued. In 1954, the National Liberation Front (FLN) became frustrated by France’s hostility and began launching attacks throughout Algeria, demanding sovereignty. France deploys their troops to monitor the situation (Hitchens). This is another example of France’s mistake in the situation. Rather than exercising diplomacy and begin negotiations with Algeria, it deploys a military force to “monitor the situation”. The following events could have been avoided if France acted wiser.

The following year, the FLN begins to target civilians. Targeting civilians was perceived as the only option for revolutionaries because it was the only way to get attention and make their cause known. The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) was an advocate of property violence because it was the only way for them to gain attention for their cause. The ELF started with peaceful protests and shifted to more violent outbursts because nothing would change; they realized they would still be met with violent force by the authorities no matter how peaceful or violent their protests were. The FLN’s passionate and ferocious strategies against Algeria did not intimidate France and France’s reaction only escalated FLN’s plans. Despite 120 French Algerian deaths and 1,200-12,000 Muslim deaths, the governor-general of French Algeria, Jaques Soustelle, would not compromise with revolutionaries. In 1956, the FLN starts to attack urban areas of Algeria (Hitchens).

In 1958, the Pied Noir inflicted attacks out of frustration because France did nothing to suppress the revolutionaries. Finally, with the support of the French Army, the Pied Noir demand that Charles de Gaulle be put as Algeria’s leader. The French National Assembly approves and de Gaulle is approved by the French and Muslims. In the years to follow, give and take between de Gaulle, the Pied Noir, and the FLN continued until independence is declared in Algeria in 1962 (Hitchens).

Independence was finally declared in Algeria despite the fact that negotiations could have started in the beginning stages of revolts. France had numerous opportunities to intervene and put a stop to the violence. Even the Pied Noir grew frustrated over France’s absence. If France had cooperated with the FLN and discouraged Pied Noir’s violence in the name of France, thousands of lives could have been saved and independence could have been achieved sooner.

Hitchens, Christopher. “A Chronology of the Algerian War of Independence.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 1 Nov. 2006, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/11/a-chronology-of-the-algerian-war-of-independence/305277/.