When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

You've reach your limit of free articles.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime.

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Ad-free experience NEW

Exclusive international news coverage

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Monthly Access

30-day free trial, then $2.90 per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
This Happened

This Happened — November 1: A War Begins That Would Change Two Nations

Starting in 1954, the Algerian War was fought between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front, and ultimately led to Algeria winning its independence in 1962, ending more than a century of French colonial rule.

What caused the Algerian war?

The French invasion of Algiers in 1830 would begin more than a century of colonial rule by Paris over the territory of modern-day Algeria, which was fully integrated into the French state four years later until its independence.

Algeria was a longtime destination for European immigrants, and their descendants, who came to be known as the "pieds-noir" (black feet) population.

After promises of self-rule in Algeria went unfulfilled after World War II, Algerians eventually rose up against the French government to seek autonomy.

The war took place mainly on the territory of Algeria, with repercussions in metropolitan France. As the war continued , the French public slowly turned against its own government and many of France's allies, including the United States, switched from supporting France to abstaining in the UN debate on Algeria.

How did the Algerian war start?

The Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) launched a series of 70 attacks against French targets across Algeria on Nov. 1, 1954. It was what came to be commonly referred to as "Toussaint Rouge" (Red All Saints' Day), or Toussaint Sanglante (Bloody All-Saints' Day), and is considered the beginning of the War in Algeria.

While the FLN attacked government buildings, they also issued a broadcast from inside Egypt (where Gamal Abdel Nasser had recently led a revolution), which called for Muslims inside Algeria to join the struggle for self-rule and democracy, within the framework of Islamic principles.

Who won the Algerian War?

The French military relied primarily on neighborhood raids, arrests, and torture, focusing its sweeps in the Casbah slum, an opposition stronghold. More than 100,000 Muslim and 10,000 French soldiers were killed in the more than seven-year Algerian War, along with thousands of Muslim civilians and hundreds of European colonists.

On July 1, 1962, Algerians overwhelmingly approved a peace agreement promising independence. French aid to Algeria continued, and Europeans were given the choice to return to their native countries, remain as foreigners in Algeria, or take Algerian citizenship. Most of the one million Europeans in Algeria left the country.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

After Belgorod: Does The Russian Opposition Have A Path To Push Out Putin?

The month of May has seen a brazen drone attack on the Kremlin and a major incursion by Russian rebels across the border war into the Russian region of Belgorod. Could this lead to Russians pushing Vladimir Putin out of power? Or all-out civil war?

After Belgorod: Does The Russian Opposition Have A Path To Push Out Putin?

Ilya Ponomarev speaking at a Moscow opposition rally in 2013.

-Analysis-

We may soon mark May 22 as the day the Ukrainian war added a Russian front to the military battle maps. Two far-right Russian units fighting on the side of Ukraine entered the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation, riding on tanks and quickly crossing the border to seize Russian military equipment and take over checkpoints.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

This was not the first raid, but it was by far the longest and most successful, before the units were eventually forced to pass back into Ukrainian territory. The Russian Defense Ministry’s delay in reacting and repelling the incursion demonstrated its inability to seal the border and protect its citizens.

The broader Russian opposition — both inside the country and in exile — are actively discussing the Belgorod events and trying to gauge how it will affect the situation in the country. Will such raids become a regular occurrence? Will they grow more ambitious, lasting longer and striking deeper inside Russian territory? Or are these the first flare-ups at the outset of a coming civil war? And, of course, what fate awaits Vladimir Putin?

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

You've reach your limit of free articles.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime.

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Ad-free experience NEW

Exclusive international news coverage

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Monthly Access

30-day free trial, then $2.90 per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch

The latest