Algeria’s move to English signals erosion of France’s sway (2024)

FAQs

Why did Algerians move to France? ›

There was little opportunity to move freely throughout society in Algeria, so many were motivated to migrate to France for a better life. The presence of a post-colonial economic opportunity gap when Algeria was freed after the Algerian War also contributed to the increase of Algerian immigrants.

According to Olivier Le Cour Grandmaison, the colonization of Algeria led to the extermination of a third of the population from multiple causes (massacres, deportations, famines or epidemics) that were all interrelated.

The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) was a major armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria winning its independence from France.

In 1834, after four years of partial and uncertain occupation, the territory under civil rule was annexed to France. The military zone would be annexed from 1841, once it was agreed that the whole territory of Algeria needed to be conquered.

The conflict contributed to the fall of the French Fourth Republic and the exodus of European and Jewish Algerians to France. After Algeria became independent in 1962, about 800,000 Pieds-Noirs of French nationality evacuated to mainland France, while about 200,000 remained in Algeria.

Despite ambiguous sentiment in Algeria concerning its former colonial power, France has maintained a historically favored position in Algerian foreign relations. Algeria experienced a high level of dependency on France in the first years after the revolution and a conflicting desire to be free of that dependency.

France colonised the country for more than 130 years. During that time, torture, mass displacement, and discrimination against the local Arab-Berber Muslim population were regular features of French rule. A war of independence between 1954-1962 resulted in brutal policies by French authorities to quell the uprising.

A referendum held both in France and Algeria resulted in 75% of voters supporting Algerian independence. In January 1961, Charles de Gaulle began negotiations with the FLN. An attempted coup to topple De Gaulle failed to gain widespread support from the armed forces and was defeated.

In 1962, after a violent eight-year struggle, Algeria declared itself independent from France. Nearly a million pieds-noirs fled the place of their birth. The politics of '48, the year of thwarted revolutions across Europe, had a long tail.

The presidency said in a statement that over 5.6 million Algerians were killed during the French occupation of Algeria between 1830 and 1962, when the country gained independence.

How long did Algeria resist the French? ›

Post-independence (1962-present)

In 1962, Algeria gained its independence from France. At independence, under the terms of the Évian Accords, nationals were to become either Algerian or French effective on 1 January 1963.

Why did France treat Algeria differently than its colonies in West and Central Africa? They considered Algeria to be a part of mainland France so unlike it's other colonies, they didn't allow Algeria to govern themselves.

Tens of thousands immigrated, bolstered by limited reforms in 1947 under the Statute of Algeria, which granted Algerian men full French citizenship and established unrestricted passage between Algeria and France.

They were born in Algeria during colonial rule, but they are usually considered French because of their close connection to French colonists.

The lack of employment opportunities and generally poor economic conditions cause certain rural regions in Algeria to experience constantly high levels of emigration, especially by youth, which in some cases involves irregular migration to international destinations.

The main reason Algeria became French-speaking is France's colonial policies. The French government imposed their language on Algerians to control the population and the economy.