France opens its archives on the war in Algeria

France opens its archives on the war in Algeria

The decree of the Ministry of Culture makes it possible to consult all “public archives produced in the framework of matters relating to events committed in relation to the war in Algeria between November 1, 1954 and December 31, 1966”.

This material includes “documents related to cases brought before the jurisdictions and the execution of decisions of the French justice” and “documents related to investigations carried out by the services of the judicial police”.

All these files were not consultable by law for 75 years, except by obtaining a dispensation.

For two decades, French governments have been facilitating access to documentation relating to sensitive periods in French history: first, the WWII and the occupation, and subsequently the end of the colonial empire after the war.

President Emmanuel Macron He promised to help historians shed light on France’s action in Algeria, from the start of the independence insurgency in 1954 to independence in 1962.

In September 2018, Macron acknowledged that the 1957 disappearance of the mathematician and communist activist Maurice Audin in Algiers was the work of the French army and opened the files on this case. Subsequently, in March 2021, it announced a simplification of the procedure for accessing classified files over 50 years old.

Source From: Ambito

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