De Gaulle abandoned the Sahara as an artificial construction in September 1961.

Evidence

In simplest terms, the French view was that the Algerians had no more right to the vast desert under-belly than the Indians had to Texas. Pedantically, Joxe explained how the frontiers of the Sahara were purely artificial, created arbitrarily by French cartographers. Historically, geographically and racially it had never had any connection with Algeria, and what was understood by Algeria was that narrow strip bounded by the Atlas mountains and the Mediterranean; traditionally the Algerians, claimed Joxe, had always been drawn northwards rather than southwards. Meanwhile, France had consistently accorded the Sahara special status. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1437 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: France’s Sahara claims rested on cartographic fictions until oil made it valuable.; De Gaulle’s pursuit of national grandeur dictated abandoning Algeria; France claimed the Sahara was artificially drawn and never integral to Algeria — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1437 (+2 more)

Related

• France claimed the Sahara was artificially drawn and never integral to Algeria (similarity 0.92)
• The Sahara dispute turned on oil wealth rather than geography or history. (similarity 0.88)
• France’s Sahara claims rested on cartographic fictions until oil made it valuable. (similarity 0.87)
• De Gaulle’s pursuit of national grandeur dictated abandoning Algeria (similarity 0.84)
• Algeria was only one element of de Gaulle’s larger ambitions. (similarity 0.82)
• The French economy’s prosperity rested on Saharan oil and gas (similarity 0.81)
• De Gaulle’s pursuit of national grandeur required sacrificing Algeria. (similarity 0.81)
• De Gaulle presented secession as one of Algeria’s three possible futures. (similarity 0.80)
• Colonial expansion was foreclosed by ideology and prior European division of the world (similarity 0.79)
• Algeria remained pro-Vichy while Equatorial Africa went over to de Gaulle. (similarity 0.79)
• De Gaulle’s true intentions on Algeria remain a fundamentally contested riddle. (similarity 0.78)
• De Gaulle personally favored the association option over secession or integration. (similarity 0.78)
• Porous frontiers shaped the Algerian War’s outcome and de Gaulle’s rise (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• De Gaulle’s pursuit of national grandeur dictated abandoning Algeria #expands (0.80)
• France claimed the Sahara was artificially drawn and never integral to Algeria #expands (0.75) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1437
• The Sahara dispute turned on oil wealth rather than geography or history. #complicates (0.60)
• De Gaulle won an 80 percent Yes vote in the September 1958 referendum #complicates (0.40) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 934