Mollet’s simultaneous demand for surrender and secret compromise offer emboldened F.L.N. resistance
Evidence
Immediately, Lacoste was shackled by the top priority that Mollet had prescribed and that he had himself endorsed — “First win the war”. There was an unmistakable element of contradiction apparent in Mollet’s policy; for, although his Socialist government was prepared to go further than any other, and at the risk of international complications, to win the war, he was at the same time dropping hints — very secretly — to the F.L.N. that a compromise might be possible. Thus on the one hand he seemed to be demanding “unconditional surrender” and on the other offering conditions; a contradiction that could only confuse, and thereby offer the F.L.N. additional excuse for intransigence. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 475
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to the reader’s theme of how French policy contradictions fueled colonial resistance — echoes the ‘fought back’ counter-narrative interest. — connects to: Mollet’s contradictory demands for surrender and compromise emboldened the F.L.N.