March 18 marks the signing of the Evian Accords, which ended French colonial rule in Algeria after 130 years. The agreement called for a ceasefire in the eight-year war between France and Algeria for independence. The agreement came after years in which the Front de Libération Nationale advocated for Algerian independence through uprisings and coordinated attacks.
While many European settlers lived on Algerian land and were allowed full citizenship, many Algerian Muslims did not have political or human rights. After the Sétif and Guelma massacre in 1945, which historians estimate led to between 15,000 and 45,000 deaths, 4,500 arrests, and the banning of Algerian political parties, a new belief emerged: violence was the only road to independence.
The FLN was formed in October 1954, and one month later, seventy coordinated attacks on French facilities marked the start of the Algerian War of Independence. However, the French Prime Minister Guy Mollet responded by dramatically expanding the French military presence in Algeria, which eventually reached around 400,000 troops. Population deportation and resettlement were used against Algerians, as well as systematic torture of FLN suspects. Despite this, the FLN continued to act through assassinations of French officials and bombings of cafes and nightclubs.
In 1958, European Algerians advocated for Algeria’s integration into France and for Charles de Gaulle, the leader of France during WWII, to return to power. Amid international pressure, de Gaulle visited Algeria, where he proposed reforms expanding political rights for Algerian Muslims and later announced that Algerians had the right to determine their own future. Ultimately, this marked a turning point in the conflict.
The Evian agreement was signed in 1962, promising the continuation of French aid and allowing Europeans to return to their native countries, to remain in Algeria as foreigners, or to become Algerian citizens. After Algerians approved the agreement, most Europeans subsequently left Algeria.
During the war, Algerian sources estimate that up to 1 million Algerians died, 2 million were placed in internment camps, 300,000 became refugees, and 150,000 were detained. Furthermore, in the 1963 constitution, Algeria declared itself part of the Maghrib, the Arab world, and Africa. However, France did not officially recognize the conflict as the Algerian War until 1999, nearly four decades after it ended.
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