French negotiators wanted specific guarantees while the F.L.N. offered only vague goodwill
Evidence
As the actual negotiations at Evian got under way, a fundamental difference of approach was at once discernible between the opposing teams, with Joxe endeavouring to get down to specific details — such as the length of the “transitory phase” from French administration to Algerian sovereignty, and the “guarantees” to be provided for the Europeans — and Krim seeking refuge behind declarations of general principles. On the vital issue of “guarantees” for the pieds noirs, Tricot found it “intolerable” that Krim would not, or could not, “speak with precision of the future”. Immediately, said Tricot, there gaped “an abyss between the global guarantees of which we were thinking and the various protestations of goodwill which our representatives had heard”. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1428
Categorization
- XREF: The ‘abyss’ over pieds-noirs guarantees is central to understanding the eventual exodus; connects to the reader’s interest in how French colonial subjects were handled. — connects to: F.L.N. deliberately sabotaged its own negotiating openings to deny de Gaulle international credit — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1170; Algerian refusal to compromise stripped away each French negotiating demand; De Gaulle feared even exploratory talks would imply recognition of F.L.N statehood — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1165
Related
- Algerian refusal to compromise stripped away each French negotiating demand (similarity 0.83)
- The F.L.N. forced the French to abandon every major negotiating demand in sequence. (similarity 0.83)
- De Gaulle feared even exploratory talks would imply recognition of F.L.N statehood (similarity 0.80)
- The F.L.N.’s deep historical mistrust of France drove its intransigent negotiating posture. (similarity 0.80)
- F.L.N. deliberately sabotaged its own negotiating openings to deny de Gaulle international credit (similarity 0.80)
- Recognition of the F.L.N. as sole negotiating partner was the core deadlock (similarity 0.80)
- De Gaulle regarded the Evian settlement as an exit, not a victory. (similarity 0.79)
- Rigid F.L.N. negotiating terms outlasted France’s shifting war aims (similarity 0.79)
- De Gaulle’s soldier’s language misread F.L.N. psychology and ensured rejection of his peace offer. (similarity 0.79)
- De Gaulle’s cease-fire overture was a truce flag, not a surrender (similarity 0.79)
- Abbas signalled the F.L.N. might drop the independence precondition for talks (similarity 0.79)
- Post-independence negotiations settled French troop withdrawal timelines (similarity 0.78)
Broader Connections
- Algerian refusal to compromise stripped away each French negotiating demand
#contradicts(0.70) - De Gaulle feared even exploratory talks would imply recognition of F.L.N statehood
#expands(0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1165