“This day marks the shared will of the French Republic and the Provisional Government of the Republic of Algeria to cease hostilities and engage the two countries on a new path, that of cooperation of which we are still the actors today,” recites the official text from State Secretary Jean-Marc Todeschini, who adds: “General de Gaulle understood this well. Those who deny this reality do violence to the choice of the French of the time and betray the legacy of General de Gaulle.”
For the right-wing opposition, it’s a different story… quite the opposite. While at the national level, the opportunity is too tempting not to give voice to the resentments of the repatriated and harkis, in the department, which was home to a large number of them, the elected officials, with their eyes fixed on the electoral support of their citizen-voters, have taken a clear and unmistakable position against this commemorative initiative.
The Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, refuses to involve his city. “It’s a matter of personal conviction. The choice of March 19th is a denial of the truth about the history of France, as disappearances and murders occurred by the hundreds after this date.”
Eric Ciotti remains true to his ultra-right stance: “Constantly wanting to make our country bear the weight of historical faults is a mistake. #Hollande #March19” he posted on his Twitter account.
Michรจle Tabarot, whose father was one of the leaders of the OAS (so to speak!), wrote a letter of protest to the President of the Republic.
In this context, and showing diplomatic finesse, Prefect Adolphe Colrat moved the official ceremony to a peripheral location, in order to avoid a more than likely counter-demonstration from the “nostalgic of the colonial epic.”
