18 March 1962 : France-Algerian truce
moreOn this day in 1962, France and Algeria sign a truce to end the Algerian War, signalling the end of 130 years of colonial French rule. In 1954, Muslim guerrillas of the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) launched a war of independence in Algeria. By 1956, the FLN was threatening to overrun the colonial cites, home to Algeria's sizable European settler population, and 500,000 French troops were sent to Algeria to crush the revolt. By 1958, the FLN had been pushed back into rural areas, but a new crisis erupted when European Algerians launched massive demonstrations calling for the integration of Algeria with France and the return of Charles de Gaulle to power.
On 18 March 1962, de Gaulle oversaw the signing of a truce and the bloody Algerian War officially came to an end.
moreOn this day in 1962, France and Algeria sign a truce to end the Algerian War, signalling the end of 130 years of colonial French rule. In 1954, Muslim guerrillas of the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) launched a war of independence in Algeria. By 1956, the FLN was threatening to overrun the colonial cites, home to Algeria's sizable European settler population, and 500,000 French troops were sent to Algeria to crush the revolt. By 1958, the FLN had been pushed back into rural areas, but a new crisis erupted when European Algerians launched massive demonstrations calling for the integration of Algeria with France and the return of Charles de Gaulle to power.
On 18 March 1962, de Gaulle oversaw the signing of a truce and the bloody Algerian War officially came to an end.