Army disaffection and Fourth Republic decay were visible inside the state before 1958

Evidence

Taking upon itself not only the burden of the fighting but also the severity, and sometimes the beastliness, of the repression, closely in touch with the anxieties of the French population of Algeria and the Muslim auxiliaries, haunted by fear of another Indo-China, another military reverse inflicted on its colours, the army, more than any other body, felt a growing resentment against a political system which was the embodiment of irresolution. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 529 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Vidal-Naquet, himself a declared opponent of the established government, admits freely that “no country involved in similar horrors has ever permitted publication of such complete documentation on the subject”. The vehemence of the public outcry, however, was also to have its repercussions in other directions. Army generals like General Allard, corps commander for the Algiers area and Massu’s immediate superior, themselves immaculate of any reproach of association with torture, protested bitterly to the Ministry of Defence against the anti-army attacks in the Press. Their “incessant repetition”, he wrote, “places at risk the morale of the army”. All through the army in Algeria, and, of course, particularly among the paras who saw themselves as the principal target of such attacks, there was an increasingly savage feeling that they had been called in to carry out the dirty work of the civil authorities and were now being carted for it. Once again the plaint, “On nous a fait le coup”, began to be heard in the messes. It was yet another brick in the wall of resentment and contempt rapidly rising against the politicians of the Fourth Republic. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 735 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Army disaffection extended into the Fourth Republic’s highest levels; Fear of another Indochina made the army resent the Fourth Republic’s political system — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 529; French protests against torture deepened the army’s contempt for the Fourth Republic — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 735

Related

• Army disaffection extended into the Fourth Republic’s highest levels (similarity 0.91)
• Fear of another Indochina made the army resent the Fourth Republic’s political system (similarity 0.91)
• French protests against torture deepened the army’s contempt for the Fourth Republic (similarity 0.88)
• French military contempt and complacency blinded them to the coming revolt (similarity 0.86)
• Exposure of the secret truce talks deepened the army’s contempt for civilian government (similarity 0.83)
• The army’s anti-Communist doctrine threatened French democracy by courting fascism (similarity 0.80)
• Repeated regime changes left the French army uniquely divided over where its loyalties lay (similarity 0.79)
• Each French regime change since 1793 fractured army loyalties, uniquely in world history (similarity 0.79)
• Army leaders conflated negotiation with betrayal, haunted by 1940 and Dien Bien Phu memories. (similarity 0.79)
• The Algerian army command split along loyalty lines when the putsch began. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Fear of another Indochina made the army resent the Fourth Republic’s political system #exemplifies (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 529
• French protests against torture deepened the army’s contempt for the Fourth Republic #exemplifies (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 735