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The article mentions this briefly, but Tunisia just wasn't as important to the French as Algeria was. To France, Algeria (at least the populated northern coast
by jcranmer 1y ago
The article mentions this briefly, but Tunisia just wasn't as important to the French as Algeria was. To France, Algeria (at least the populated northern coast of it) wasn't a colony, it was Metropolitan France--it received full representation in the French legislature, for example. (Note that this was in practice limited to the French settlers in Algeria, as the natives were largely excluded from civic participation--not unlike the apartheid system in South Africa). Given that native populations weren't particularly well-treated, especially after their lot failed to improve despite being the major backbone of the Free French Army in WW2, it's not much of a surprise that they resented French rule and chose to become independent.
And quite like the settler colonies of other countries in Africa, the settler minority who held power in Algeria weren't particularly inclined to give it up to the majority they largely felt beneath them. And since it was a severe insult to national pride to let a core part of France become independent, the French government resisted to the point that it literally broke the government (the Fourth Republic fell because of it, leading to the Fifth Republic).
- xwolfi 1y agoWell it has to do also with the European population in Algeria. Ofc Algeria was more precious to us in terms of resources, sheer size etc, but it was also home to millions of Europeans and extremely expensive to abandon or resettle them - a bit like if all the former countries of the Israelis citizens had to take them back today if Israel were to be taken back by its native original inhabitants: a complete nightmare nobody would support and we'd rather move along and let it be a bit of a mess rather than bring the mess back home. That was at least the feeling at the time, and we still had to do it, and it is to this day a complete mess of people brought back who don't feel French and aren't Algerians really. We'll pay for it for many decades until it finally disappear, like every subgroup that got "imported" in France and had to merge painfully since France started. Tunisia in contrast, we really didn't care all that much, there was no cost giving it back and we lost nothing. And fast forward 70 years, we probably actually saved tons of money doing so, so we're all good. Note that if you talk people to people, it now seems to be in the past, Algerians are proud to be Algerians, French are ashamed to have damage the country so much for so long, and we try to be good friends. I've never met an hostile Algerian, as in a recent immigrant. I've met many hostile 3rd generation immigrants from Algeria whose grandparents fled back to France, and they still have trouble accepting that uprooting. There seems to be nothing to do except wait and smile and tell them it's gonna be ok, with a glass of wine and bit of saucisson.
- mytailorisrich 1y ago[flagged]
- Spooky23 1y agoWhen you say “French had to flee”, you mean European settlers. Your question is the answer.
- mytailorisrich 1y ago[flagged]
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- Spooky23 1y agoThere was a decade long rebellion and civil war. The French followed the pattern of the British and Germans in Africa and put a couple of million people in concentration camps with the associated torture and repression. They took a nascent movement and empowered it, just like they did in Vietnam. Empires are messy. Frankly, your argument sounds like the Americans complaining about Puerto Rican “immigrants”.
- mytailorisrich 1y agoSure, but unclear what this all has to do with my point. > Frankly, your argument sounds like the Americans complaining about Puerto Rican “immigrants”. If Algeria was still part of France then perhaps. But the actual situation is completely different as previously explained.
- tptacek 1y agoJust to note that a plurality of Israeli Jewish people are indigenous at least to the region. Their situation is not at all like that of Algeria.