French ruse diverted Ben Bella’s plane to Algiers where all five were captured
Evidence
On leaving Palma the French air hostess, though noting with concern that Ben Bella had his revolver lodged in the seat pocket in front of him, maintained a superb poker face, chatting up the Algerians so as to distract them from detecting the plane’s change of direction, and announcing coolly as it began its descent: “Attachez vos ceintures et cessez de fumer, s’il vous plaît. Nous atterrissons à Tunis!” The Algerians were totally deceived. One of them, noting from afar the large number of figures on the airfield, exclaimed: “Why, they’ve organised a very handsome reception for us!” It was not until the instant of landing and recognising the French uniforms, tanks and armoured cars that packed the runway that they realised they were in Algiers, not Tunis. With no chance to resist, the five Algerians were led out by armed gendarmes to begin five and a half years of imprisonment in the Santé in Paris, then in a series of other French gaols and strongholds. Indicted for crimes punishable by death, they were given the status of political prisoners but were never brought to trial. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 486
Categorization
- SEED: The air hostess deception is a compelling set-piece for an essay on the role of small ruses and theatricality in colonial counterinsurgency.
- FICTION: The poker-faced hostess deceiving doomed captives could seed a scene about complicity in political abduction.
- XREF: connects to: The Ben Bella kidnapping may mark the French army’s first self-directed political coup — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 485; The Ben Bella hijacking sealed off any negotiated end to the war. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 490; Suez and the Ben Bella affair destroyed Mollet’s Algerian policy. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 497 (+1 more)
Related
- The Ben Bella kidnapping may mark the French army’s first self-directed political coup (similarity 0.83)
- The Ben Bella hijacking sealed off any negotiated end to the war. (similarity 0.83)
- The Ben Bella hijacking backfired by pushing Tunisia and Morocco firmly behind the FLN. (similarity 0.79)
- Suez and the Ben Bella affair destroyed Mollet’s Algerian policy. (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- The Ben Bella hijacking sealed off any negotiated end to the war.
#expands(0.70) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 490 - Suez and the Ben Bella affair destroyed Mollet’s Algerian policy.
#corroborates(0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 497 - The Ben Bella hijacking backfired by pushing Tunisia and Morocco firmly behind the FLN.
#complicates(0.55) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 487