Evian agreements: the international press praises de Gaulle but fears the future
Front page of the France-Soir newspaper on March 19, 1962. © Archives France-Soir
Text by: Anne Bernas Follow
12 mins
On March 18, 1962, the Évian Accords were signed, after 132 years of French colonization in Algeria and more than seven years of war.
These agreements are an event not only on both sides of the Mediterranean but also in Europe and across the Atlantic.
Overview of the international press the day after this historic announcement, rave about General de Gaulle but full of doubts about the future.
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Note: the newspapers of the Arab world from this period have mostly closed and it is no longer possible to have access to their archives.
In France,
Le Monde
devotes a large part of its edition of Monday March 19 and Tuesday March 20, 1962 to the
signing of agreements
with many articles.
“
General Charles Ailleret gives the order to cease fire on the army of Algeria
”, “
Mr. Farès would preside over the provisional executive
”, “
The general strike ordered by the OAS paralyzes Algiers and Oran
”.
Le Monde
recounts the last hours that led to the signing of the agreements as well as the next steps to come.
He also notes the “
relief
” of foreign countries: “
Abroad, satisfaction is general despite the apprehensions aroused by the possible reactions of the OAS.
President Kennedy sent his congratulations to General de Gaulle and Mr. Ben Khedda.
The latter also received a message from Mr. Khrushchev, announcing to him the de jure recognition of the GPRA by the USSR and proposing the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Arab leaders, starting with Colonel Nasser, expressed the hope that the ceasefire would open an era of rapprochement between France and their peoples.
An obstacle remains however, according to Mr. Abdel Khaled Hassouna, Secretary General of the Arab League, the friendship of France for Israel.
But people in Jerusalem are convinced that the détente between France and Islam will not come at the expense of the Jewish state.
Fight against OAS
And the evening daily also publishes an article entitled "
Operations against the OAS in metropolitan
France" in which it lists all the arrests that have taken place during the last 24 hours on French territory.
At the same time, another journalist from
Le Monde
described the state of the FLN and ALN forces: "
Inside Algerian territory, the FLN allegedly has about five thousand weapons of war proper (guns of war, submachine guns, collective weapons) and six thousand complementary weapons (shotguns and handguns).
All of this armament would correspond to a workforce of more than 15
000 guerrillas.
Some would therefore not be armed or would carry, for example, only grenades, but would nevertheless live in total clandestinity.
»
In bold and in capitals,
Le Figaro
devotes its entire edition to the Évian agreements and titles: “
Midday: ceasefire in Algeria
”.
And to quote General de Gaulle: “
Who knows if the struggle and the sacrifice of the dead will not have helped the two peoples to better understand that they are made to walk fraternally?
On page 6 and 7, a huge report on the two years of negotiations with the representatives of the FLN.
In one of the editorials entitled "
Tomorrow
", the daily affirms about the French army: "
It is still on it that, tomorrow, depends the future of two peoples made "not to fight each other but to march fraternally together on the road to civilisation".
It is on her that the French future of a fraternal Algeria may depend, in the impending ordeal.
»
"
A decisive step... but no one can ignore the difficulties of application that result from it today
", notes for its part
Le Journal du Dimanche
which publishes all the agreements in its edition.
The ceasefire is "
a great victory for peace
" for the left-wing daily
L'Humanité
which, on a double page, tells the story of the last 24 hours of negotiations.
But the newspaper wonders: why did General de Gaulle wait so long?
“
Thus officially ends a cruel war which, from the last quarter of an hour to the last quarter of an hour, will have lasted seven years, four months and nineteen days.
A war that could have been avoided if we had listened to the voice of those who, from the start, with courage and lucidity, affirmed the legitimacy of the demands of the Algerian people and the need to negotiate with their authentic representatives.
And who for this have repeatedly suffered the repression of power.
»
"
Official ceasefire today at noon in Algeria
", headlines the newspaper
Combat
which mentions that this is taking place while "
Ben Khedda welcomes Ben Bella to Morocco today
".
And Combat to detail “
the agreements concluded yesterday in Evian between France and the GPRA
”.
This same daily also devotes an article to the words of de Gaulle, "
De Gaulle: 'the solution of common sense ended up winning'
", another to Ben Khedda, entitled: "
Ben Khedda: 'the cease- fire is not peace"
.
We should also note, among other things, a subject on "
the populations of Algeria [who] are ready to take on the task of defending their provinces themselves, affirm the elected representatives of
published on these same pages.
An article echoed by
L'Aurore
, stating that "
the elected officials of Algeria are making a pathetic appeal to the people of France
".
L'Aurore
headlines its front page “
Ceasefire today at noon.
De Gaulle announces a referendum for April
”.
And to continue on page 2: “
After
2,696 days of war, Évian announces the time of the ceasefire: noon
”.
In box, the respective declarations of Joxe and Krim, an article also on "
the atmosphere of the funeral vigil
" which took hold of Algiers on March 18.
“Playing the game of mutual trust”
France Soir
affirms that "
anxiety reigns in Algiers
", that "
Joxe explains the agreements to the French
" and that "
Ben Bella spent the night in Switzerland with the FLN delegation before reaching Morocco
".
La Croix
undertakes an editorial entitled “
Mutual
trust ”, in which one can read that “
once the result has been achieved, it will be advisable to gradually abandon reluctance and play the game of mutual trust.
It alone will pay off for all
”.
Alongside the headline devoted to the ceasefire, the regional daily
L'Alsace
evokes the "
general strike in Algiers and Oran where courts martial are instituted to maintain order
".
La Marseillaise
is enthusiastic: “
Long live independent Algeria.
The GPRA settles in Algiers
”.
In red capital letters,
Liberation
writes "
Cease-fire
", with two huge photos of soldiers embracing children.
“
A great victory for the Algerian people
”
The Algerian newspaper
El Moudjahid
, the only Arab daily of the time whose archives are present and the official communication organ of the National Liberation Front, is the media that published the text of the Évian Accords.
This March 19, 1962, it is obviously in a special edition and title: "
The ceasefire, step towards independence
".
The daily, whose slogan is “the revolution by the people and for the people”, writes in front page: “
Algerian people!
This is a great victory for the Algerian people whose right to independence has just been guaranteed.
»
In the rest of the world, on the front page of the Italian daily
Corriere de la serra
: "
De Gaulle announces the signing of the armistice
".
A first page entirely devoted to the ceasefire in Algeria and its consequences - like its German colleague
Die Welt
-, of which an article is exclusively devoted to the anger of the OAS.
The other major Italian title,
La Stampa,
also makes the entire front page of the Évian agreements, including an article titled: “
The pathetic announcement of De Gaulle to the nation
”.
"
He insisted on 'the reasons which will make Franco-Algerian cooperation inevitable'
"
;
and to give glory to the army "which has remained firm in its duty despite the attempts at subversion by certain retrograde leaders and criminal adventurers
".
La Stampa
wonders: “
Will the peace signed on the map be effective on the ground?
".
"
In this firm determination, we believe we see the real guarantee of peace, even if to achieve it we will have to overcome a dramatic crisis of adjustment.
»
“The bloodiest chapter of a cruel history comes to an end”
For
La gazette de Lausanne,
"
the bloodiest chapter of a cruel history is coming to an end (...) The ceasefire is however only one stage on a long road
".
And to conclude after a long inventory of the situation: “
It is therefore necessary that in the period of provisional government which opens, the vain resentments and the claims of detail are silent, for the benefit of an obvious common interest.
As for the instigators of disorder, both common sense and history condemn them
”.
The Geneva newspaper
publishes an article by its correspondent in New York: “
America knows the cost of the Algerian evolution
”.
“
The Americans, who gambled on independence while recognizing the risks and the dangers, do not want Algeria at any price, with its strategic position to fall even into suspect neutralism.
Because the American government does not want a "vacuum" to arise between Morocco and Tunisia "
which have so far remained, somehow, oriented towards the West
".
Another article from the Swiss newspaper confirms this: “
Paris: relief but no sign of joy.
Next decisive days for the OAS
”.
The British press, which unanimously welcomes the ceasefire concluded, remains cautious.
The
Daily Herlad
asks: “ Does
a ceasefire mean peace?
“
The right-wing secret army terror war is expected to erupt into new and more desperate violence.
»
Same concern for the
Daily Mail
which titles: "
A peace thin as a razor's edge
".
For the
Financial Times,
it will now be necessary to face a guerrilla war with the OAS.
And the
Times
to moderate, “
not even the bombs nor the threats of the European extremists of the OAS can completely spoil the feeling of relief in France, in Algeria and among the friends of France
”.
“
Ceasefire in Algeria today at noon.
The Evian agreement will put an end to 7 years of fighting.
General de Gaulle asks for the support of the nation
".
Three truths stated by de Gaulle in his speech: the interest of France and the realities of the current world go in the direction of Algerian independence;
future cooperation between France and Algeria will be key to Algeria's development;
beyond the clashes, dramas and deaths, peace will help the French and Algerian peoples to understand each other better.
The Guardian
believes that the end of the war, in itself, "
is a great victory, whatever the difficulties that remain to be resolved in Algeria and perhaps even in France
".
In the article "
De Gaulle asks the nation to approve the conditions of peace
", the editorial recounts the general's moving appeal in his speech "
in the interest of both parties
".
His voice nearly broke when he finished speaking, saying "
Long live the Republic
."
The editorial links this speech to the appeal of June 18, saying that these two speeches are appeals to reason.
“
The end of a war
”.
This article designates as an immediate threat to peace the possible non-acceptance of the agreements by the OAS and the French in Algeria.
The editorial states that the weeks and months to come will be very risky, from this point of view.
De Gaulle, “
a tired but still indomitable old man
”
On the other side of the Atlantic,
The New York Times,
in one of its editorials entitled “
La nouvelle d'Évian
”, also praised General de Gaulle.
He speaks of him as "
a tired but still indomitable old man who came to present the peace treaty to the French after a long and tragic war in which both sides suffered severe losses
".
With this signed peace, says the editorial, "
the French in their great historical moments return to the great ideals of their revolution, freedom, equality, and fraternity
".
Another article notes the cost of the war: “
The cost of the Algerian conflict: 250,000
violent deaths and 20 billion in expenses
”.
In addition to the loss of territory, the editorial points to immaterial losses such as the erosion of state authority and the decline of France's prestige in the African world.
“
The massacre continues in Algeria
”, headlines another journalist.
“
The war is over but the killings continue
”.
He evokes the terrorist actions of the OAS and extremist Algerians, wondering if this will not compromise peace.
The article questions how the French army may or may not accept this peace;
an army seriously shaken by the arrest of the generals of the Algiers putsch, an army that must be rebuilt.
Finally, for the
New York Herald Tribune,
“
a new day is dawning for Algeria
”.
And to add: “
For de Gaulle, the announcement of a ceasefire towards which he has stretched all the power of his will, of his diplomacy, of all his prestige with the French, is a major triumph.
He alone was able to obtain it, and, in his success, he has, once again, well deserved from the Republic
”.
"
French and Algerians will walk together side by side on the road to civilization
" quotes the editorial, taking up de Gaulle's speech.
As a soldier and patriot, Algeria meant a lot to de Gaulle, but France meant even more, it is written.
“
The Story of the Algerian War – Nobody won, nobody lost, but a new state was born
,” writes the
New York Herald Tribune
again .
Peace with Algeria is a bit like France in 1940 which lost a battle but not the war.
The ceasefire is signed, the war is over, but there are still battles to be fought.
The OAS remains a threat, according to the daily.
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