First modification:
The text that formalizes the opening of the French archives relating to the war in Algeria between November 1, 1954 and December 31, 1966 was published in the Official Gazette on Thursday. The move was announced by Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot in early December.
France opened its files on court cases and police investigations in Algeria during the war against colonization (1954-1962), according to a text published in the Official Gazette. This opening measure occurs 15 years ahead of what is foreseen in the legal calendar.
Roselyne Bachelot, the Minister of Culture of France, exercises the tutelage of the National Archives in addition to those of the portfolios of the Armed Forces and Foreign Affairs. His order of December 23 makes available for consultation all “public files produced in the framework of the cases related to the acts committed in connection with the war in Algeria between November 1, 1954 and December 31, 1966. “.
These are “documents relating to cases brought before the courts and the execution of judicial decisions” and “documents relating to investigations carried out by the judicial police”.
These archives “are kept in the National Archives, the Overseas National Archives, the departmental archives services, the archives service of the police prefecture, the archives services of the Ministry of the Armed Forces and the archives department of the Ministry of Defense. Europe and Foreign Affairs “, reads the text.
A promise from Macron to clarify the position and actions of France
All these files were non-viewable for 75 years, unless an exemption was obtained.
For 20 years, successive governments have facilitated access to archives relating to sensitive periods in the country’s history: first World War II and the Occupation, and then the end of the colonial Empire after the war.
President Emmanuel Macron promised to help historians shed light on the gray areas of French action in Algeria, from the start of the independence uprising in 1954 to independence in 1962.
In September 2018, Macron acknowledged that the disappearance of the mathematician and communist activist Maurice Audin, in 1957 in Algiers, was the work of the French Army and opened the files on this case.
Then, in March 2021, the president acknowledged that lawyer Ali Boumendjel was “tortured and murdered” by the French Army and announced a simplification of the procedure for access to classified files of more than 50 years by repeal, following the historian’s advice. Benjamin Stora.
The President @EmmanuelMacron A reconnu, au nom de la France, the torture et l’assassinat d’Ali Boumendjel, avocat et leader politique du nationalisme algérien, pendant the guerre d’Algérie.https://t.co/I7y5GLHgbY
– Élysée (@Elysee) March 3, 2021
The report on the reconciliation of Franco-Algerian memories, presented to the head of state in January 2021, recommended better access to the archives of this period to “move towards a greater truth.”
The Executive is also working on a commemoration that brings together the memories of the Algerian war on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the end of the conflict in 2022. This event will take place on the sidelines of the ceremonies of March 19, the date of the ceasefire and the the Evian agreements in 1962. A risky date for the current French president, because then it will be a month before the first round of the presidential elections.
Between now and then, other milestones will be reached. On January 13, Emmanuel Macron will receive the associations of “pieds noirs” to apologize. The Elysee has also announced a national tribute to Gisèle Halimi for 2022, a great feminist figure but also one of the lawyers of the Algerian independence activists.
With AFP and local media
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