Frantz Fanon by Peter Hudis

Author:Peter Hudis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pluto Press

With the FLN in Tunisia

Fanon was expelled from Algeria shortly after handing in his letter of resignation, in January 1957. He had a lot of company. The severity of France’s repression during and after the battle of Algiers—which began in June 1956 and brought the war directly into the cities— forced much of the FLN leadership, including Abane, into exile. Most of them, as well as Fanon, went to Tunisia, where the FLN had its headquarters (Tunisia became independent in March 1956 and was a strong supporter of the Algerian independence movement). Before arriving there Fanon spent about a month in France, where he met with several FLN members active in the underground. He also got in touch with friends like Ayme and Guérin, who noted that Fanon was now totally devoted to the Algerian struggle and in full accord with the decisions of the Soummam Conference.23 He also met with those (such as Jeanson) who were trying to organize opposition against the war, but Fanon was unimpressed with the effort. By this point, he was saying his adieu to France; this was his last trip to the country.

Fanon arrived in Tunis in March 1957. One of the first people he met with upon his arrival was Abane. Things were not going well for him. Abane was a major advocate within the FLN of the policy of urban warfare, but the failure of the battle of Algiers undermined his position. The military commanders also did not take kindly to his sharp criticisms of them. The former were now getting the upper hand, since many of the political leaders were in exile. Neither Abane nor Fanon were pleased that the military commanders were subverting the decisions of the Soummam Conference by asserting their priority over the political leadership. Abane was being marginalized, but he still had enough influence to see to it that Fanon was appointed director of the FLN’s press service. Fanon grew even closer to Abane over the next eight months (Abane was also living in Tunis) and they often met to discuss the politics of the Algerian movement.

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