F.L.N. terror backfired against France, not the F.L.N., abroad

Evidence

Outrages of terrorism by the F.L.N. such as Mélouza and the Algiers bombings would indeed produce a momentary revulsion in the United States, but the eventual reaction would, perversely, somehow end up as one of irritation against France as being responsible for the war in which such horrors could take place; a psychological process not dissimilar to that in the 1970s where the spate of Palestinian hijacking and terrorism against innocent targets did nothing to make the world less hostile towards Israel. One of the F.L.N. lobbyists at the United Nations is quoted by Edward Behr as saying: “You must realise that every time a bomb explodes in Algiers we are taken more seriously here.” — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 765 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

Then Manévy was transferred to Constantine where he witnessed a terrorist grenade attack on a 14 July parade. Several paras were wounded. One of Manévy’s age panicked, fired into the crowd, and killed a Muslim woman on a balcony. Next, a hundred of the paras, some evidently fortified with anisette, broke loose, heading towards the Casbah to avenge their wounded with shouts of “Les melons! Les melons!” Unable to find any Muslims, they first smashed up a Jewish shop. At the height of the ratonnade a large French civilian intervened angrily from a nearby billiard saloon: “I am Captain Bottier; I fought myself; I did thirty-seven jumps with the Resistance.… You band of little idiots — you’re doing exactly what the F.L.N. terrorists count on you doing.…” To Manévy, Captain Bottier disclosed that he was an S.A.S. officer in from the bled, adding, “Two months of work as an S.A.S. officer are wrecked in one evening like this.” — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 521 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The FLN weighed international opinion when choosing when to use terror; F.L.N. terrorism backfired against France more than against Algeria itself; F.L.N. terrorism in France alienated even its expected leftist allies. (+7 more)

Related

• F.L.N. terrorism in France alienated even its expected leftist allies. (similarity 0.93)
• F.L.N. terrorism backfired against France more than against Algeria itself (similarity 0.93)
• Terrorist attacks boosted the F.L.N.’s diplomatic standing despite revulsion (similarity 0.92)
• The F.L.N. moved its terrorism into metropolitan France in summer 1958 (similarity 0.87)
• F.L.N. attacks on French schools were targeted war against French culture, not random savagery (similarity 0.86)
• Metropolitan terrorism alienated the French Left that supported Algerian independence (similarity 0.85)
• F.L.N. shifted its terrorist focus to metropolitan France (similarity 0.85)
• The F.L.N. adopted total war against French civilians in direct retaliation. (similarity 0.85)
• F.L.N. France terrorism avoided indiscriminate civilian bombing (similarity 0.84)
• The F.L.N. physically extended its Algerian terror and fundraising methods to metropolitan France. (similarity 0.84)
• FLN gained most from French brutal strike-breaking methods. (similarity 0.83)
• The F.L.N. justified civilian bombing as morally equivalent to French air attack. (similarity 0.83)
• The FLN weighed international opinion when choosing when to use terror (similarity 0.83)
• The F.L.N. mirrored French collective responsibility with collective reprisals (similarity 0.83)
• French retaliation massacres played directly into the F.L.N.’s strategy (similarity 0.83)

Broader Connections

• F.L.N. terrorism in France alienated even its expected leftist allies. #corroborates (0.70)
• Terrorist attacks boosted the F.L.N.’s diplomatic standing despite revulsion #contradicts (0.65) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 765
• French retaliation massacres played directly into the F.L.N.’s strategy #complicates (0.55) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 521