French protests against torture deepened the army’s contempt for the Fourth Republic

Evidence

Vidal-Naquet, himself a declared opponent of the established government, admits freely that “no country involved in similar horrors has ever permitted publication of such complete documentation on the subject”. The vehemence of the public outcry, however, was also to have its repercussions in other directions. Army generals like General Allard, corps commander for the Algiers area and Massu’s immediate superior, themselves immaculate of any reproach of association with torture, protested bitterly to the Ministry of Defence against the anti-army attacks in the Press. Their “incessant repetition”, he wrote, “places at risk the morale of the army”. All through the army in Algeria, and, of course, particularly among the paras who saw themselves as the principal target of such attacks, there was an increasingly savage feeling that they had been called in to carry out the dirty work of the civil authorities and were now being carted for it. Once again the plaint, “On nous a fait le coup”, began to be heard in the messes. It was yet another brick in the wall of resentment and contempt rapidly rising against the politicians of the Fourth Republic. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 735

Categorization

• XREF: This resentment toward civilian politicians foreshadows the May 1958 army revolt and de Gaulle’s return — central to the reader’s tracking of crisis. — connects to: French governors repeatedly ordered torture prohibited before the Battle of Algiers; French military contempt and complacency blinded them to the coming revolt; Army disaffection and Fourth Republic decay were visible inside the state before 1958 (+14 more)

Related

• French military contempt and complacency blinded them to the coming revolt (similarity 0.89)
• Army disaffection and Fourth Republic decay were visible inside the state before 1958 (similarity 0.88)
• Fear of another Indochina made the army resent the Fourth Republic’s political system (similarity 0.84)
• Exposure of the secret truce talks deepened the army’s contempt for civilian government (similarity 0.84)
• Army disaffection extended into the Fourth Republic’s highest levels (similarity 0.83)
• Mollet’s political-warfare policies propelled the French army into politics. (similarity 0.81)
• French governors repeatedly ordered torture prohibited before the Battle of Algiers (similarity 0.80)
• Sakiet’s fallout made the Algerian army feel betrayed by Paris. (similarity 0.80)
• Torture became institutionalized in the French army during the Battle of Algiers (similarity 0.80)
• Torture was the chief factor in France’s defeat. (similarity 0.79)
• Brutal French reprisals backfired by deepening Algerian hatred of France (similarity 0.79)
• De Gaulle demanded total replacement of the Fourth Republic as his price for returning. (similarity 0.79)
• Torture won the Battle of Algiers but lost the war for France (similarity 0.79)
• Torture boomeranged against France in the Algerian war (similarity 0.78)
• Perpetrators of torture carried its moral damage home to France in person (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• The French army’s heavy-handed countermeasures alienated even sympathetic observers #corroborates (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 346
• Torture became institutionalized in the French army during the Battle of Algiers #expands (0.55) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 592
• Torture in Algeria threatened France with state self-destruction #corroborates (0.55) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 734
• Torture boomeranged against France in the Algerian war #corroborates (0.50)
• The Battle of Algiers exposed torture as a lasting poison for France #corroborates (0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 580
• De Gaulle demanded total replacement of the Fourth Republic as his price for returning. #corroborates (0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 853
• The French bombing of Sakiet internationalized the war and toppled the Fourth Republic #corroborates (0.45) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 780
• French governors repeatedly and publicly prohibited torture in Algeria despite its prevalence #contradicts (0.40) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 581
• Army morale collapsed because de Gaulle’s policies erased the soldiers’ sense of purpose #expands (0.40) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1295
• Repeated regime changes left the French army uniquely divided over where its loyalties lay #exemplifies (0.35) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1078
• Torture was the chief factor in France’s defeat. #contradicts (0.30)
• The Fourth Republic’s founding charter invoked 1789 rights while fighting colonial wars. #qualifies (0.30) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 191