Le processus de décolonisation en France

In this essay, I will be looking at French Decolonisation and show that it was a vast process of adaptation for both sides, hitherto colonised countries and the colonial powers, not just the former.

French colonisation started in the 17th Century where a vast number of territories were governed by France. It was the second largest colonial empire in the world, just behind that of the British Empire. There were many territories that France took over, one of which was Algeria. I am going to show how it affected the colonies that were taken over as well as France itself. Algeria was one of the first territories to be decolonised from France. This had a big impact on France itself. The Algerian-French war from 1954-1962 showed that Algeria was to have a big impact on one the biggest Empires in the world. James D Le Seueur says:

“The war in Algeria triggered a series of events that toppled the Fourth Republic, affected intellectual life and destroyed long-standing myths about the universality of French culture”

This portrays that, without the territories that France had once governed, they were not the strong and feared nation they once were. The territories were starting to fight for themselves and France would become a weaker nation as a result of this. He also states:

“On a grand scale, therefore, the decolonisation of Algeria forced a fundamental reconsideration of politics, the status of intellectuals and the role of the French culture in the world. This reconsideration had, in fact, become so extreme that by the conclusion of the war in March 1962, the French nation was suffering from an unprecedented identity crisis”

The process of decolonisation threw France in a way that had not been witnessed sine the German occupation, or even the French revolution.

Algeria was also greatly affected by this decolonisation. Algeria achieved independence on 1st October 1960. They had a Prime Minister and a governor, and then when they became a republic in 1963, a man named Azikiwe became President. Once Algeria became independent they had many conflicts with many regions. In 1962, an action group, under the leadership of a man named S.I Akintola formed the Nigerian National Democratic Party. A year later, another party was formed and they formed a coalition with the NNDP. In 1996, Federal Prime Minister Balewa, Northern PM Ahmadu Bello, Western PM S.I. Akintola, Major Gen Johnson were killed by Igbo army officers. They then took over the military government. All of this was within the first few years of Algeria becoming independent. Violence then erupted throughout Algeria resulting in many deaths. Their independence was a major cause to this.

As the process of decolonisation went on, people started to question the French Empire. ‘Decolonisation and French Society’ states that:

“the public was more concerned with fuel and food shortages, inflation, strikes and political instability”

This shows that France was becoming a more unstable nation as they were losing their territories. People started to doubt their stability. They also say that:

“All in all, the French sense of global importance was rooted in their idea of Empire”

This conveys that

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