De Gaulle leveraged Algeria to demand France’s nuclear and NATO independence

Evidence

Louis Joxe, one of de Gaulle’s closer confidants, was perhaps nearer to the truth when he noted in conversation with de Gaulle shortly before his return to power that “he spoke of everything but Algeria—because he didn’t want to come back for Algeria only”. As Brian Crozier aptly remarks in his biography of de Gaulle: “For the army and the settlers, Algérie française was all; for him, it was only one element in the complex picture of his deferred ambitions….” — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 853 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: France’s nuclear modernization coincided with the last troops leaving Algeria; Algeria was only one element of de Gaulle’s larger ambitions. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 853

Related

• Algeria was only one element of de Gaulle’s larger ambitions. (similarity 0.90)
• France’s nuclear modernization coincided with the last troops leaving Algeria (similarity 0.88)
• De Gaulle’s pursuit of national grandeur dictated abandoning Algeria (similarity 0.86)
• De Gaulle planned five atomic divisions once the Algerian war ended (similarity 0.86)
• De Gaulle’s pursuit of national grandeur required sacrificing Algeria. (similarity 0.85)
• De Gaulle’s allies saw Algeria as subordinate to the French state’s crisis (similarity 0.84)
• De Gaulle presented secession as one of Algeria’s three possible futures. (similarity 0.82)
• France’s Algerian military dominance coexisted with its political weakness at home (similarity 0.82)
• De Gaulle’s Algeria offensive aimed partly to distract the army from politics (similarity 0.82)
• De Gaulle’s conciliatory gestures angered the army while winning no concessions from the F.L.N. (similarity 0.81)
• De Gaulle’s Algerian independence was framed as a victory over French self (similarity 0.81)
• De Gaulle’s true intentions on Algeria remain a fundamentally contested riddle. (similarity 0.81)
• De Gaulle’s mystical self-assurance blinded him to the F.L.N.’s political character. (similarity 0.80)
• De Gaulle sought army success to reconcile it to Algerian independence (similarity 0.80)
• De Gaulle privately judged the era of European colonial administration over. (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Algeria was only one element of de Gaulle’s larger ambitions. #qualifies (0.55) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 853