the Massacre of Algeriens 17th October 1961

[NormanH]

 I have frequently pointed out that to understand what is going on at the moment you need to know a bit about the period in France 1939-1962, with both the Occupation and its scars and the Algerian War.

One particularly shameful episode was this one:

http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2011/10/17/17-octobre-1961-ce-massacre-a-ete-occulte-de-la-memoire-collective_1586418_3224.html

[woolybanana]

Yes, Norman, quite agree. But taken in context, surely this could have been predicted, as can current attitudes?

As to suppressing memory, well, all governments do it, don't they?

Noone wants to constantly wash their dirty laundry in public either.

Attitudes to the people of the old Indo Chinese colonies are very different, however.

[idun]

 

Sur le moment, il y a eu censure de la presse, avec l'empêchement des journalistes

En

savoir plus sur

http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2011/10/17/17-octobre-1961-ce-massacre-a-ete-occulte-de-la-memoire-collective_1586418_3224.html#mVkdQbzSqdRbMyq2.99

And that is the thing isn't it. Who knew at the time????? And I thought that Bloody Sunday was bad enough, it sadly pales in comparison.

When I first got to France, and for many years after, the news would suddenly go off for a few seconds, technical problems every time, and usually during  something important. And then Taxi, which was a wonderful Panorama type program stopped during the broadcast when there was trouble on the streets, with students if memory serves....... and I did not see the main journalist on tv for many years.

I am not saying that most press is not censured, because I believe it is, but it always felt worse in France than the UK.

[Patf]

There was a report about it on France 24 recently (or was it RT?) I already knew about it.

The ironic thing is that the french veterans of that war are still regarded as heroes. They're all in their 70s-80s now and at funerals their fellow soldiers turn up to support them. There's been 2 in our village since we came.

Maybe there was conscription?

France must have had a huge empire at one time (Napoleon?)

[woolybanana]

In those days the Press/TV was heavily censured by the government, quite overtly. Nowadays it still happens but it is by the back door, old boy net. Though, there are signs this is under strain, for example in the case of Mr Hollande trawling actresses on his scooter or the case of the retro commissions paid to politicians for their campaigns.

[NormanH]

I think one essential difference between the French and British Empires is the fact that in Algeria anyway the French considered it as part of France.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Algeria

This has had a profound influence on how independence is viewed even now and the resentment of the pieds noirs who came back .

[nomoss]

[quote user="NormanH"]I think one essential difference between the French and British Empires is the fact that in Algeria anyway the French considered it as part of France.

[/quote]

Even allowing some native Algerians some of the rights of the ethnic French there.

[idun]

But no one needs to have been in France for five years to get one, it's all on the service public. fr web site.