THE FRENCH DEPARTURE

French Colonial System• Goal: assimilation of its African colonies into the French

empire – eventual citizenship• Taught French language and culture• Elite Africans received education in France

• Permitted to send elected representatives to Paris at the French National Assembly

• Problem: assumed Africans wanted to become French and were capable of becoming French• Africans understood where their “place” in this system would be

African Nationalism• Necessary to work within the French system even if they

desired liberation

• Postwar France does not respond to African demands for self-rule because they are trying to suppress a rebellion where?

• France is faced with revolution in other colonies, as well as in Algeria – they became more receptive.• No longer insisted on assimilation• Began to search for a workable alternative that would avoid all-out

revolution

Félix Houphouët-Boigny

New Colonial Policy• Created by French National Assembly in June 1956

• Allowed for greater autonomy in each French colony (previously were governed under one centralized administration)

• Each colony now had its own French Prime Minister and Africa Vice-Ministers

• Each colony would hold elections for legislative assemblies under universal suffrage

• France still wants to maintain some form of indirect control

President Charles de Gaulle• French President, 1958

• Offered 12 sub-Saharan colonies membership in the French Union (autonomy but continued association with France; continued economic and military aid) OR immediate and full independence

• All colonies chose membership in the French Union except for Guinea

Guinea• France immediately pulled out all of its personnel and

equipment and terminated all economic aid• France hoped to force Guinea to back down but Guinea

stuck with its decision• Inspiration for nationalist leaders in the neighboring

French colonies in West Africa

Independence• 1960 – after two years of agitation and negotiation, de

Gaulle granted independence to all of the remaining French colonies in sub-Saharan Africa

• New nations were unprepared for full independence and tended to remain politically unstable and economically dependent on France for years to come

• Why now? France has its hands full in Algeria…

Algeria• Historical context: French War in Vietnam

• Drained French people emotionally, physically, and economically• Ended in July 1954

• Within five months, France faced revolution in Algeria – French people could not accept another defeat

• Saw Algeria not as a colony but an integral part of France – a province across the Mediterranean

• Home to 1 million Europeans who considered themselves to be living in France

Land Divided Between:• Immigrant French

• Seized best land along the coast• Enjoyed rights and protection of French citizens• Predominately Roman Catholic

• Native Algerians• Offered little protection from the law• Predominately Muslim

Strong Feelings on Both Sides• “Algeria is France.” – Francois Mitterrand, Minister of the

Interior

• “The Algerian people are not French, do not wish to be and could not be even if they did wish.” - Muslim scholar

• “Islam is my religion. Arabic is my language. Algeria is my country.” – recitation by school children in Algerian schools

Hypocrisy of WWII• WWII fought for the noblest reasons

• Against fascism, racism, and colonialism• For democracy and human rights• For self-determination

• African leaders saw the hypocrisy in this situation and demanded independence

Beginning of the Revolution• May 1, 1945 – Algerian demonstrators stated

unauthorized march denouncing French rule and demanding independence

• French attempted to halt the demonstration – 10 Algerian deaths

• May 8, 1945 – V-E (Victory in Europe) Parade turned into a riot – 1 Algerian death

• Created a spontaneous anticolonial rebellion – and one of the bloodiest repressions by a European power

Early War• French (with help from the British) responded with aerial

and naval bombardment of villages

• French arrested thousands

• 1,165 deaths (according to the French); 45,000 deaths (according to Algerian estimates)

• May 13 – French military paraded through Algeria to prove their victory

FLN• 9 years of relative stability• 1945 – Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) – organized

resistance group that conducted guerrilla warfare and terrorist attacks

• FLN bombed European targets; Europeans bombed Muslim establishments

• French army tortured and executed prisoners to uncover the secretive FLN structure

• Battle of Algiers finally destroyed the FLN leadership and the uprising appeared to be over (again)

Late War• Rebellion continued as new leaders emerged

• French settlers in Algeria demanded more military protection

• 2-3 million Arabs (out of 9 million total) were driven from their villages and became refugees; almost 1 million died

• Eventually, the French realized that Algeria would never be French – debates within French society became so heated they threatened to start a French civil war

Charles de Gaulle• 1958 – rectified inequalities between Arab and European

Algerians

• Algerian nationalists rejected this because it meant they were still part of France

• 1962 – de Gaulle pulled his troops out of Algeria• Military and French citizens in Algeria felt betrayed by de Gaulle

and never forgave him• Marked the end of France as a colonial power

Aftermath• Rebellion was led by men who were educated in France

and often fought with distinction in the French army in WWII

• Even though resistance leaders threw in their lot with the FLN, most of the educated socialist leaders had no regard for Islam and no intention of creating an Islamic republic and did not attempt a “social” revolution – they were interested in the exercise of power

• Military and one-party rule will dominate Algeria up until the present day