A French army had not directly intervened in national politics since Napoleon’s coup

Evidence

Lacoste was away on leave in the Dordogne, and to this day there remains some mystery as to whether the coup was in fact a first major instance of the French military acting on its own initiative, in disregard of the civil authorities, expressly with a view to torpedoing the peace negotiations; as to whether Lacoste turned a blind eye; or whether there was some degree of complicity even by the Mollet government, now deeply committed to the Suez adventure. The relevant orders are said to have been destroyed. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 485 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Teitgen, a hero of the Resistance who had survived Dachau, was little disposed towards an army takeover in Algeria in any shape, and he could hardly believe his ears. At first he thought the bronzed and rugged general had gone slightly out of his mind. On second thoughts, however, he decided he should delve a bit deeper, and called Faure in for a further discussion, this time recording it all on a tape. Fortified with it, he then went to warn Lacoste. Distressed by this news, especially as he regarded Faure as a “stout-hearted sort” (un coeur généreux), the governor-general despatched Teitgen to Paris to inform the Minister of Defence, Bourgès-Maunoury. Teitgen has told how the minister’s immediate reaction was to hope that the affair would not “make it impossible for one to go ski-ing”, and asked him whether he had said anything to “ce con-là”, Mitterrand, then Minister of Justice. Shocked by Bourgeès-Maunoury’s apparently frivolous lack of interest, as well as his disrespect for a fellow minister, Teitgen then went on to see Mollet himself. Mollet took the matter much more seriously, but in turn used the same expression in deprecating Bourgès-Maunoury — “ce con-là”! Teitgen returned to Algiers, disquieted at the apparent lack of solidarity within the government. Faure was recalled and sentenced to thirty days’ fortress arrest — the first senior officer to suffer such a penalty for dissidence in Algeria. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 540 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Approximately 14,000 officers and men were estimated to have been implicated in the revolt in one degree or another, and by the end of April five generals and 200 other officers had been arrested. Each and every one was required to give an hour-by-hour account of his activities during the putsch, and for months afterwards the most disagreeable form of witch-hunt ensued. Conscripts denounced regular officers, seniors their juniors, and vice versa. Those who had perched unadmirably on the fence were now praised for their “abstention”, while those who had declared themselves forthrightly were condemned. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1405 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Mollet’s political-warfare policies propelled the French army into politics.; Senior French officers plotted an army takeover in Algeria in early 1957 — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 540; The Ben Bella kidnapping may mark the French army’s first self-directed political coup — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 485 (+1 more)

Related

• Mollet’s political-warfare policies propelled the French army into politics. (similarity 0.90)
• The Ben Bella kidnapping may mark the French army’s first self-directed political coup (similarity 0.89)
• Senior French officers plotted an army takeover in Algeria in early 1957 (similarity 0.87)
• Military commanders seized power in both Algeria and France at the same moment (similarity 0.84)
• A coup plot against civil government in Algeria emerged in late 1956 (similarity 0.84)
• The army viewed any negotiated ceasefire as toppling its war effort in Algeria (similarity 0.83)
• Thousands of French officers were implicated and internally denounced in the putsch’s aftermath (similarity 0.83)
• Salan slipped away from French surveillance into Spanish exile. (similarity 0.80)
• The failed December 1960 coup irrevocably committed part of the French army to revolt (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• The Ben Bella kidnapping may mark the French army’s first self-directed political coup #qualifies (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 485
• Senior French officers plotted an army takeover in Algeria in early 1957 #qualifies (0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 540
• Thousands of French officers were implicated and internally denounced in the putsch’s aftermath #qualifies (0.40) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1405