Decolonization and the French of Algeria by Sung-Eun Choi

Author:Sung-Eun Choi
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781137572899
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2016-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

6

A Socialist Politics of Repatriation

Erasing “all nature of scars and divisions” of the Algerian past

In 1980, François Mitterrand addressed the president of ANFANOMA once again, this time as a presidential candidate, to reaffirm his commitment to all repatriates “so that [France] may heal all wounds emanating from the Algerian drama.”1 Mitterrand also addressed the “compatriots of the Islamic faith, for whom France must make special effort to place on an absolute and equal footing [with all], all the while respecting and supporting their cultural and religious specificity.”2 During his campaign, the Mitterrand camp issued a daily newsletter called “The Socialist Combat.” The committee that edited the newsletter was headed by a pied noir, Madame Jourdan, whose repatriate status and family origins in Sétif, Algeria, were highlighted for the campaign.3 Under Jourdan’s supervision, special brochures were printed to publicize Mitterrand’s promises to the repatriates. In addition to pointing out the value inherent in the memory and culture of the “French repatriates,” and the special right to indemnities and amnesty for all, the brochure proclaimed the need to respect the identity of the harkis, or “French Muslims.”4

As president, Mitterrand reaffirmed the state’s duties to the repatriates and sought to strengthen ties with the repatriate community. He vowed a new spirit [nouvel état d’esprit] in repatriation politics, reinstituted the Secretary to the State in the Service of Repatriates, and named Raymond Courrière to the post. The socialist government would carry out a comprehensive and wide-ranging set of reforms with the aim of helping the French public “understand the moral questions” behind repatriation. An official Guide to the Rights of Repatriates declared its mission to resolve the array of problems still experienced by repatriates: “Twenty years after the tragic events that had forced 1.5 million of our compatriots to leave their birthplace and the land where they had built their lives, repatriates were still in need of the government’s full attention.”5 In Agen, a Central Service for Repatriates was established to ensure the proper application of the 1961 Repatriate Law; in Bordeaux, a Delegation for the Reception and Installation was introduced; and in Paris, the ANIFOM [Agence nationale pour l’indemnisation des Français d’Outre-mer] was created “to assess the value of property lost in Algeria.” Public money allocated to help repatriates was increased by almost 30%. Courrière became a key figure in Mitterrand’s government, accompanying him on a state visit to Algeria and maintaining a public profile that made him one of the most visible figures in government. Mitterrand and Courrière publicized their goal of granting repatriates the “right to the past, and a right to the future” – words that would become a permanent legacy for repatriation politics in France. And by enacting a new law, the socialist government was about to rewrite the entire Algerian past by celebrating the careers and lives of all those who had previously been the target of sanctions and censure by the French state for their sedition during the Algerian War.

The Law of December 3, 1982 was yet

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.