Independence Day ( ar, عيد استقلال, french: Jour de l'Indépendance), observed annually on 5 July, is a National Holiday in Algeria commemorating colonial Algerian independence from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

on 5 July 1962.

Algerian War (1954–1962)

The Algerian War of Independence began in November 1954 and ended in 1962. The war was very brutal and long, and was the most recent major turning point in Algeria's history. Although often fratricidal, it ultimately united Algerians and raised the value of independence and the philosophy of anticolonialism into the national consciousness. Abusive tactics of the

French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

remains a controversial subject in France to this day. In the early morning hours (12:00 am) of 1 November 1954, the National Liberation Army ( L'armée de Libération Nationale—ALN) launched attacks throughout Algeria in the opening salvo of a

war of independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of ...

. An important watershed in this war was the massacre of civilians by the FLN near the town of Philippeville in August 1955. The government claimed it killed 1,273 guerrillas in retaliation; according to the FLN, 12,000 Muslims perished in an orgy of bloodletting by the armed forces and police, as well as colon gangs. After Philippeville, all-out war began in Algeria. The FLN fought largely using guerrilla and terrorist tactics whilst the French counter-insurgency tactics often included severe reprisals and repression. Eventually, protracted negotiations led to a cease-fire signed by France and the FLN on March 18, 1962, at Evian, France. The Evian accords also provided for continuing economic, financial, technical, and cultural relations, along with interim administrative arrangements until a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

on self-determination could be held. The Evian accords guaranteed the religious and property rights of French settlers, but the perception that they would not be respected led to the exodus of one million ''pieds-noirs'' and ''harkis''. Between 350.000 and 1 million Algerians are estimated to have died during the war, and more than 2 million, out of a total

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

population of 9 or 10 million, were made into refugees or forcibly relocated into government-controlled camps. Much of the countryside and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

was devastated, along with the modern

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

, which had been dominated by urban European

settler A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...

s (the '' pied-noirs''). French sources estimated that at least 70,000 Muslim civilians were killed or abducted and presumed killed, by the FLN during the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

. Nearly one million people of mostly French, Spanish and Italian descent were forced to flee Algeria at independence due to the unbridgeable rifts opened by the civil war and threats from units of the victorious FLN. Along with them fled most Algerians of Jewish descent and those Muslim Algerians who had supported a French Algeria ('' harkis''). 30–150,000 pro-French Muslims were also killed in Algeria by FLN in post-war reprisals. French President Charles De Gaulle pronounced Algeria an independent country on 3 July. The decision was published in the official journal the following day, and Algerian leaders declared 5 July, the anniversary of the French arrival in Algiers, to be Independence Day.''Background Notes''
United States Department of State. Office of Media Services, p3

References

External links

The Colonial System and Algerian Nationalism
{{Public holidays in Algeria Public holidays in Algeria July observances

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Algerian War Algerian nationalism Algerian culture