Their names are Lucien, Bachir, Marie-Claude, Serge, Roger and Djamila.

They are French, Algerians.

In 1954, when the "events" broke out in Algeria, they were barely emerging from adolescence.

It is time for decolonization all over the world.

Those who were then called "indigenous" aspired to put an end to 132 years of French colonization.

>> See the long format: Algerians, French: they tell their war in Algeria

But France does not hear it that way.

With more than one million Europeans settled (for about 9 million natives), Algeria is the only settlement of the French colonial empire.

It is also a land rich in oil and gas.

From 1956, the government of Guy Mollet decided to use the army to maintain order in this territory.

In total, 1.5 million young French conscripts will be sent to Algeria to face the fellaghas, these Algerian fighters having taken the maquis.

On March 19, 1962, when the ceasefire provided for by the Évian agreements came into effect, 400,000 conscripts were still on the other side of the Mediterranean.

Their military service lasted 18 months, sometimes even 28 or 30 months.

An experience experienced as a trauma for many of them.

For decades, what they experienced will remain taboo – including within their own families.

Sixty years after the end of this nameless war (the "war" was not officially recognized until 1999), they dug into their memories to entrust their memories to us.

Called up, companion of a called up, harki, soldier of the National Liberation Army (ALN) – armed wing of the National Liberation Front (FLN) – or member of the FLN, they tell us about colonization, the horror of the fighting, the torture, fear but also their desire for appeasement.

The French representatives and the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (GPRA) signed, on March 18, 1962, the so-called Évian agreements, consecrating the French defeat and paving the way for the independence of Algeria after more than seven years. of war and 132 years of colonization.

© Graphic Studio - France Media World

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