ABSTRACT
Never, in the seven years during which the Algerians have fought against French imperialism, has French imperialism gone so far in making concessions, at least verbal ones. Seven years ago it seemed impossible that a French government would ever recognize the independence of the departments of Algeria and the sovereignty of an Algerian government over the Saharan “territories.” In order to obtain this recognition, it took a million dead, a million deported into concentration camps, hundreds of thousands of émigrés in Tunisia and Morocco, tens of thousands of militants and non-militants arrested, tortured, interned, liquidated.1 By these means de Gaulle has discovered that his interest lies in abandoning Algeria. Has the cause therefore been understood?
