There have always been fundamental tensions between French republican ideology and French colonial rule. French republican ideology revolved under the pretense that colonial subjects are better off assimilating and integrate with French culture and values. It emphasized “the Enlightenment principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity,” and produced a republican culture that demanded respect for basic human freedoms and rights. However, the way the French treated its colonies, especially Algeria, contradicts those same republican ideologies. During World War I, when France faced a severe manpower shortage, “Algeria provided the largest number of recruits during the war. In all, North Africa contributed over a quarter of a million men to the war effort (Fogarty, 31).” This was because “North Africans in general had a fairly good reputation as soldiers (Fogarty, 31).” These men were known to be race guerrieres. In all, approximately 120,000 to 125,000 Algerians defended the metropole, with 25,000 killed by the end of the war. As Fogarty explained it, “the limited access to naturalization in the colonies after the war brought into stark relief the ultimate weakness of the republican ideal of assimilation when it came to transforming colonial subjects into French citizens (Fogarty, 233).” The film Battle of Algiers (Pontecorvo, 1967) best highlights the tension between French authorities and Algerians.

The first scene that highlights colonial tension is when Ali la Pointe gets tripped by a French bystander. In retaliation, Ali punches the bystander in the stomach, causing him to bleed and fall. In response, an angry French mob surrounds and attacks Ali until the police arrive and arrest him. As he is being taken away into custody, the narrator describes Ali’s social status: illiterate, currently unemployed, draft dodger, and his previous criminal record. Ali is then sentenced to eight months in prison. This scene highlights the social problems Algerians faced. For instance, the French refused to teach Algerians how to speak and write French. “In France, language and national identity have been especially closely aligned throughout modern history. To speak French is to have unique access to the greatness of the culture, to share in its achievements (Fogarty, 136).” “Fluency in French has become one of the most important prerequisites for membership in the national community (Fogarty, 136).” Algerians also faced struggles even if they knew French. “One military official argued that it was generally a bad idea to recruit indigenous corporals from among those who spoke French well, because these French-speakers were often politically unreliable city-dwellers (Fogarty, 150).” The requirements to become a citizen were also unreasonable. “An applicant would have to satisfy several preliminary conditions: be aged twenty-five or older, be monogamous or single, have no convictions for serious crimes, and have two consecutive years of fixed residence (Fogarty, 258).”

The second scene that highlights colonial tension is when the NLF ambushed police across the city. After authorities learned that the perpetrators were hiding in the Muslim Quarters, they decided to seal off the area. Checkpoints were set up at all access points. Barbed wire and fences were erected. Civilians were required to show ID and subject to searches. The police at the checkpoints were often aggressive, rude and showed little respect to the Algerians. In contrast, whites could freely enter and exit the area without showing ID or being searched. This shows the growing tensions between the French and the Algerians. The French alienated everyone in the Muslim Quarters and assumed that they were all NLF sympathizers. This was one of the reasons why there were so many instances of lone-wolf attacks on police in the film. If the French treated the Algerians better, there would not be that many police deaths throughout the city.

The third scene that highlights colonial tension is when the NLF instructed three women to plant bombs at various public locations across the city: the café, milk bar, and Air France. To get through the checkpoints undetected without being searched, they tried to look more Western by cutting their hair, applying makeup, and wearing Western clothing such as a blouse and dress. When the women proceeded to the checkpoint, they walked past the checkpoint without being searched. This scene exemplifies the intolerance the French had towards the Algerians and Islam. “Many French people, along with the French state, have had a notoriously difficult time integrating Islam and its followers into their society and their conceptions of national identity (Fogarty, 171).” In World War I, they tried to accommodate and respect Muslim customs, it did not work out as planned. After the Battle of the Somme, where millions of soldiers were killed or wounded in action, “for an observant Muslim, the thought of being buried “in a tomb in a strange land, in a land of infidels,” without a proper sepulcher, was particularly painful (Fogarty, 183).”  The French army also tried to accommodate Muslims with Ramadan, which is considered the holiest day in the Muslim calendar. “Allowing Muslims to observe the fast of Ramadan during the day, serving them their meals after sundown on those days, and informing them of the dates of holidays within the holy month so that they could celebrate them, would be “good policy,” because the soldiers would see concrete proof of the “precautions that we are taking to respect their religion and their customs (Fogarty, 185).” However, many French officers found it inconvenient to alter their work and meal schedules for an entire month, especially during times of manpower shortage. But perhaps the most important concern is that the Germans used this to their advantage against the French. They dropped propaganda leaflets in the French trenches “that called for resistance and desertion in explicitly religious and nationalistic terms (Fogarty, 192).”

The fourth scene that highlights colonial tension is when General Jacques Massu orders his officers to uncover the organizational structure of the NLF and engage in torture if it was necessary. He told his men that “in our situation, humane consideration can only lead to despair.” If the French wanted to effectively maintain their control of their colony, the Algerians are the solution. By torturing them, the French are alienating their colonial subjects and creating more enemies than allies.

The fifth scene that highlights colonial tension is when a French officer used the loudspeaker to address the people of Casbah during the peaceful strike. The officer broadcasted messages such as “the NLF wants to starve you and condemn you to poverty.” He also told the people of Casbah to resist the NLF’s orders. This shows the amount of propaganda and deception the French used on the Algerians. In one instance, “an Algerian told a French official that “it would be generous to grand us certain rights, which France without doubt will not refuse to the survivors of her Algerian children who will have died contributing to her triumph over Germany (Fogarty, 238).” Many other soldiers, such as the Tunisians, Indochinese, and Moroccans were also deceived. Many “had internalized French rhetoric portraying France as a beacon of freedom and justice (Fogarty, 238).” Unfortunately, the French were only saying what was needed to convince their colonial subjects to bear arms and fight for their country.

I believe the film does a great job portraying what was happening in Algeria during French rule, although some scenes may have been dramatized. The disrespect and racial prejudice from the French caused the ambushes across the city and the Battle of Algiers itself. “France is supposed to be relatively open to the political and social integration of immigrants and other outsiders, no matter what their ethnic or cultural origins, who choose to embrace French law, traditions, and culture (Fogarty, 232).”  The French demanded too many unreasonable compromises from the Algerians. “Those wishing to become French citizens must embrace French laws and customs, and this often requires sacrificing signs of ethnic and cultural difference (Fogarty, 234).” This film was banned in France for five years, where it was released in 1971. They claimed that the film was sympathizing with the Algerian side. While that is true, I believe it is important for the next generation of French people to learn and understand their country’s past and how we can work together to prevent such things from happening again.

Works Cited

Pontecorvo, G. (Director), Musu, A., & Saadi, Y. (Producers), & Solinas, F., & Pontecorvo, G. (Writers). (n.d.). The Battle of Algiers.

Fogarty, R. S. (2013). Race and war in France: colonial subjects in the French Army, 1914-1918. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.