France Unveils Classified Archives on Algerian War
© AP Photo / Horst Faas
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - France has unveiled archives of court cases and police investigations related to the Algerian war (1954-1962), the Official Journal of the French Republic announced on Thursday.
"This decree provides free distribution of... state archives' materials of cases related to the Algerian War between 1 November 1954, and 31 December 1966, and stored in the national archives", the message read.
These archives include police and military materials, as well as documents of the French Foreign Ministry. The archives were classified for 75 years and could be accessed only by authorized personnel.
In March 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to ease access to classified archives related to the Algerian war. It was about documents up to 1971 classified as "secret défense" (encompasses any extremely sensitive information concerning French national security). The presidential administration noted that the procedure will reduce the waiting time for researchers to gain access to the archives.
French troops seal off Algiers' notorious casbah, 400-year-old teeming Arab quarter, May 27, 1956 in Algeria, prior to a surprise 18-hour raid which turned up a store of military booty. The 7,500-man raiding party, including 1,500 special police, rounded up 4,480 Arabs, of which 522 were detained as "super suspects."
© AP Photo
Between 1954 and 1962, France waged a war against an independence movement in its then colony Algeria. Hundreds of thousands of Algerian nationals were killed and French armed forces believed to use torture techniques against Algerians. French citizens were shocked by the war and attempted a coup against the then-president, Charles de Gaulle, which has failed. In 1962, Algeria won its independence from France. The Algerian war still remains a very sensitive topic in France.
