France marks 60 years since Evian Accords ended the Algerian war
Issued on: 19/03/2022 -
02:19 France commemorated 60 years since the signing of the Evian Accords at an Élysée Palace ceremony on March 19, 2022. © Gonzalo Fuentes/POOL/AFP
Text by: FRANCE 24
Video by: Yena LEE
France commemorated 60 years since the signing of the Evian Accords – which ended the Algerian war and paved the way for independence from France – at an Élysée Palace ceremony on Saturday.
In the 60 years since Algeria won independence from France, bilateral crises have often fuelled by domestic politics. Yet some experts say the two sides had surprisingly good relations for four decades, and it was only in the 1990s that things started to fall apart.
"Generally, despite appearances and criticism, there has been a stable, very balanced relationship," said Luis Martinez, a Maghreb researcher at Sciences Po university in Paris.
That is despite the devastation caused by the eight-year war of independence that finally ended after the signing of the Evian accords on March 18, 1962.
French historians say half a million civilians and combatants died – 400,000 of them Algerian – while the Algerian authorities believe some 1.5 million were killed.
Under French General Charles de Gaulle, whose administration signed the accords, and his successor Georges Pompidou, Paris had good relations with Algiers. The same was true under François Mitterrand, even though he had been interior minister when Algeria's armed independence struggle began in 1954 and remained opposed to the country's independence.
"Mitterrand was surrounded by Socialist Party people, who were all pro-FLN," said historian Pierre Vermeren, referring to the National Liberation Front that led the revolt and has dominated Algerian politics ever since.
Mitterrand "was able to take a back seat" and let others deal with Algeria, said Vermeren, a professor at the Sorbonne University.
France was allowed to continue its nuclear tests in the Algerian Sahara until 1967, and de Gaulle managed to negotiate a secret deal with the new Algerian state to allow for chemical weapons tests until 1978.
But in 1992, Paris raised hackles by criticising Algiers for suspending elections after Islamist parties had won the first round.
Algeria withdrew its ambassador in response.
The cancellation of the polls sparked another decade of devastating conflict, only ending after an amnesty offer by Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who became president in 1999.
Despite being close to France, Bouteflika made use of anti-French discourse, primarily for domestic consumption, Vermeren said.
"To win back control of the ideological and political sphere after the civil war, [the Algerian leadership] 'forgot' that France had helped them fight the Islamists," he said.
"They went back to their traditional enemy."
'Good ties in secret'
Under Bouteflika, Algerian leaders used ever-stronger language against France, accusing it of having committed "genocide" during its more than 130-year occupation of Algeria.
Then in 2019 a vast protest movement toppled the autocratic Bouteflika after two decades in power – but the new regime has kept up the anti-French discourse.
Observers say, however, that cooperation behind closed doors has been surprisingly close. Starting in 2013, Algeria allowed French forces to use its airspace to reach Mali for its battle against the jihadists that threatened to overrun the country.
According to Naoufel Brahimi El Mili, who has written a book on 60 years of "secret stories" between the two countries, "French-Algerian relations are good when they're in secret. They're more hostile when they're in public."
Relations continued to be good under Emmanuel Macron, who became president after an election campaign in which he had visited Algiers, where he described colonisation as a "crime against humanity".
After taking office he made several gestures aimed at healing past wounds on both sides of the Mediterranean.
But he refused to apologise for colonialism, a highly sensitive topic in France, which for decades saw Algeria as an integral part of French territory and where far-right discourse has been escalating.
Comments reported last October dampened hopes around reconciliation. Macron accused Algeria's "political-military system" of rewriting history and fomenting "hatred towards France".
In remarks to descendants of independence fighters, reported by Le Monde, he also questioned whether Algeria had existed as a nation before the French invasion in the 1800s.
Once again, Algeria withdrew its ambassador.
'Algeria votes Macron'
Now, as French presidential elections loom in April, relations appear to be looking up again. Millions of French citizens of Algerian origin and descendants of Europeans who left after independence are among those casting votes.
"Algeria will vote for Macron," said author El Mili. "Algerians are convinced that a Macron II will be bolder."
Xavier Driencourt, a former French ambassador to Algeria, shared that view. "They don't want [conservative candidate] Valérie Pecresse, who has a fairly right-wing tone, and definitely not [Eric] Zemmour or Marine Le Pen," he said, referring to two far-right presidential hopefuls.
But much remains to be done. Martinez from Sciences Po said Macron's comments had done a lot of damage.
"They'll go back to the drawing board, and try to see what they can agree on," he said.
Former envoy Driencourt remarked that "it takes two sides to have a relationship", adding: "I'm not very optimistic."
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Text by: FRANCE 24
Video by: Yena LEE
France commemorated 60 years since the signing of the Evian Accords – which ended the Algerian war and paved the way for independence from France – at an Élysée Palace ceremony on Saturday.
In the 60 years since Algeria won independence from France, bilateral crises have often fuelled by domestic politics. Yet some experts say the two sides had surprisingly good relations for four decades, and it was only in the 1990s that things started to fall apart.
"Generally, despite appearances and criticism, there has been a stable, very balanced relationship," said Luis Martinez, a Maghreb researcher at Sciences Po university in Paris.
That is despite the devastation caused by the eight-year war of independence that finally ended after the signing of the Evian accords on March 18, 1962.
French historians say half a million civilians and combatants died – 400,000 of them Algerian – while the Algerian authorities believe some 1.5 million were killed.
Under French General Charles de Gaulle, whose administration signed the accords, and his successor Georges Pompidou, Paris had good relations with Algiers. The same was true under François Mitterrand, even though he had been interior minister when Algeria's armed independence struggle began in 1954 and remained opposed to the country's independence.
"Mitterrand was surrounded by Socialist Party people, who were all pro-FLN," said historian Pierre Vermeren, referring to the National Liberation Front that led the revolt and has dominated Algerian politics ever since.
Mitterrand "was able to take a back seat" and let others deal with Algeria, said Vermeren, a professor at the Sorbonne University.
France was allowed to continue its nuclear tests in the Algerian Sahara until 1967, and de Gaulle managed to negotiate a secret deal with the new Algerian state to allow for chemical weapons tests until 1978.
But in 1992, Paris raised hackles by criticising Algiers for suspending elections after Islamist parties had won the first round.
Algeria withdrew its ambassador in response.
The cancellation of the polls sparked another decade of devastating conflict, only ending after an amnesty offer by Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who became president in 1999.
Despite being close to France, Bouteflika made use of anti-French discourse, primarily for domestic consumption, Vermeren said.
"To win back control of the ideological and political sphere after the civil war, [the Algerian leadership] 'forgot' that France had helped them fight the Islamists," he said.
"They went back to their traditional enemy."
'Good ties in secret'
Under Bouteflika, Algerian leaders used ever-stronger language against France, accusing it of having committed "genocide" during its more than 130-year occupation of Algeria.
Then in 2019 a vast protest movement toppled the autocratic Bouteflika after two decades in power – but the new regime has kept up the anti-French discourse.
Observers say, however, that cooperation behind closed doors has been surprisingly close. Starting in 2013, Algeria allowed French forces to use its airspace to reach Mali for its battle against the jihadists that threatened to overrun the country.
According to Naoufel Brahimi El Mili, who has written a book on 60 years of "secret stories" between the two countries, "French-Algerian relations are good when they're in secret. They're more hostile when they're in public."
Relations continued to be good under Emmanuel Macron, who became president after an election campaign in which he had visited Algiers, where he described colonisation as a "crime against humanity".
After taking office he made several gestures aimed at healing past wounds on both sides of the Mediterranean.
But he refused to apologise for colonialism, a highly sensitive topic in France, which for decades saw Algeria as an integral part of French territory and where far-right discourse has been escalating.
Comments reported last October dampened hopes around reconciliation. Macron accused Algeria's "political-military system" of rewriting history and fomenting "hatred towards France".
In remarks to descendants of independence fighters, reported by Le Monde, he also questioned whether Algeria had existed as a nation before the French invasion in the 1800s.
Once again, Algeria withdrew its ambassador.
'Algeria votes Macron'
Now, as French presidential elections loom in April, relations appear to be looking up again. Millions of French citizens of Algerian origin and descendants of Europeans who left after independence are among those casting votes.
"Algeria will vote for Macron," said author El Mili. "Algerians are convinced that a Macron II will be bolder."
Xavier Driencourt, a former French ambassador to Algeria, shared that view. "They don't want [conservative candidate] Valérie Pecresse, who has a fairly right-wing tone, and definitely not [Eric] Zemmour or Marine Le Pen," he said, referring to two far-right presidential hopefuls.
But much remains to be done. Martinez from Sciences Po said Macron's comments had done a lot of damage.
"They'll go back to the drawing board, and try to see what they can agree on," he said.
Former envoy Driencourt remarked that "it takes two sides to have a relationship", adding: "I'm not very optimistic."
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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