De Gaulle’s triumphant Algeria slogans masked his private conviction the colony was doomed

Evidence

That he was already speaking in two voices, however—one for the elated masses, another for his own private, clairvoyant pessimism—seems to be indicated by a coldly cynical remark de Gaulle uttered to quell the jubilation of an over-eager aide immediately on his return from this peak of triumph: “L’Afrique est foutue, et l’Algérie avec!” Of his Mostaganem exclamation of “Vive l’Algérie française!” which its exponents would regard as the holy writ, he later explained dismissively that it had just “escaped” from him; it was superficial, just like talking about “French Canada”. On the other hand, those even more controversial words, Je vous ai compris, de Gaulle states were “seemingly spontaneous but in reality carefully calculated”; their purpose was “to establish emotional contact”. But just what did this mean? De Gaulle explained later that his whole message of June was “tantamount to saying that the day would come when the majority amongst them could decide the destiny of all”. Certainly, however, no one who heard the words agreed on understanding exactly what de Gaulle had understood. The army for one had become “dupes”, said Charles-Henri Favrod, to his “incantatory” language. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 926 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Were I to announce my intentions point-blank, there was no doubt that the sea of ignorant fear, of shocked surprise, of concerted malevolence through which I was navigating would cause such a tidal wave of alarms and passions in every walk of life that the ship would capsize. I must, therefore, manoeuvre without ever changing course until such time as, unmistakably, common sense broke through the mists…. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1155 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: De Gaulle took power in June 1958 offering no Algerian solution.; De Gaulle declared nostalgia for colonial Algeria was a death sentence.; De Gaulle concealed his Algerian aims to avoid capsizing public passions — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1155 (+8 more)

Related

• De Gaulle’s June 1958 Algiers rhetoric was deliberately ambiguous, hiding his pessimism (similarity 0.94)
• Gaulle hid his Algeria intentions to avoid capsizing French public opinion. (similarity 0.94)
• De Gaulle’s true intentions on Algeria remain a fundamentally contested riddle. (similarity 0.92)
• De Gaulle’s ambiguity to the army was deliberate deception for its own good. (similarity 0.90)
• De Gaulle’s ambiguity made every faction believe he would serve their agenda (similarity 0.89)
• De Gaulle took power in June 1958 offering no Algerian solution. (similarity 0.88)
• De Gaulle hid his Algerian self-determination policy because public opinion was unready (similarity 0.88)
• De Gaulle’s true intentions on Algeria remain irreducibly ambiguous even to his closest associates. (similarity 0.88)
• De Gaulle declared nostalgia for colonial Algeria was a death sentence. (similarity 0.87)
• De Gaulle privately judged the era of European colonial administration over. (similarity 0.87)
• De Gaulle’s pursuit of national grandeur required sacrificing Algeria. (similarity 0.87)
• De Gaulle privately told the army the era of European colonial administration was over. (similarity 0.87)
• De Gaulle concealed his Algerian aims to avoid capsizing public passions (similarity 0.86)
• De Gaulle publicly declared Papa’s Algeria dead to challenge pied noir delusions (similarity 0.86)
• Algeria was only one element of de Gaulle’s larger ambitions. (similarity 0.85)

Broader Connections

• De Gaulle’s June 1958 Algiers rhetoric was deliberately ambiguous, hiding his pessimism #corroborates (0.80) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 926
• De Gaulle concealed his Algerian aims to avoid capsizing public passions #corroborates (0.75) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1155
• Gaulle hid his Algeria intentions to avoid capsizing French public opinion. #corroborates (0.75)
• De Gaulle hid his Algerian self-determination policy because public opinion was unready #corroborates (0.70) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1154
• De Gaulle privately judged the era of European colonial administration over. #corroborates (0.70) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1036
• De Gaulle privately told the army the era of European colonial administration was over. #corroborates (0.70)
• De Gaulle declared nostalgia for colonial Algeria was a death sentence. #exemplifies (0.60)
• De Gaulle’s true intentions on Algeria remain a fundamentally contested riddle. #expands (0.60)
• De Gaulle’s true intentions on Algeria remain irreducibly ambiguous even to his closest associates. #expands (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1145
• De Gaulle’s ambiguity to the army was deliberate deception for its own good. #expands (0.60)