Algerian Independence

Setting the scene

Algeria gained independence on July 5, 1962, after 132 years of French colonial rule and an eight-year war that killed 1 million Algerians and 27,000 French. The war began November 1, 1954, when the National Liberation Front (FLN) launched an insurgency. France, which considered Algeria part of France, responded with brutal counterinsurgency including torture and massacres.

What happened

The war divided France, leading to the collapse of the Fourth Republic and Charles de Gaulle's return in 1958. After a 1961 referendum, de Gaulle negotiated the Évian Accords signed March 18, 1962, granting independence. A final referendum in Algeria on July 1, 1962, approved independence with 99.7% voting yes. Independence was declared July 5.

Why it still matters

Algerian independence ended the French Empire and inspired anti-colonial movements worldwide. It triggered an exodus of 900,000 pieds-noirs (European settlers) to France. The war's brutality, including French torture, left lasting scars. July 5, 1962, marked the end of one of the bloodiest decolonization wars and demonstrated that settler colonialism could be defeated by determined nationalist movements.

Background

Pied-noirs fled to metropolitan France.