Suez destroyed Mollet’s Algerian policy while no rival would replace him

Evidence

For Guy Mollet the Suez debacle meant the torpedoing of his hopes of a military victory in Algeria, while the Ben Bella episode, at least temporarily, closed all doors to a negotiated peace. His whole policy lay in ruins; yet he was allowed to linger on in power, a lame duck, if for no other reason than that no other French politician was willing to relieve him of his burdens at this invidious time. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 497 (#expands, via linked claim)

Mollet in his turn cared little about British imperial problems, but to his death insisted passionately that Israel was his first concern. He was deeply conditioned by the past betrayals of Munich and the Spanish Civil War, and, as a good Socialist, was drawn to Israel as a “pioneer country socialising itself”. He felt she had but one true friend in the world — the United States — which, in the throes of an election, would be unable to help her. He denied hotly that Suez was “done for Algeria”, and yet one is entitled to pose the question: had France not been so embroiled in Algeria, would Mollet have been quite so open to Israeli pressure, and would he in turn have pushed Eden so hard to participate in what was to prove to be such a desperate gamble? — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 493 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Suez and the Ben Bella affair destroyed Mollet’s Algerian policy. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 497; Algeria’s entanglement likely fuelled Mollet’s rush to Suez. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 493

Related

• Algeria’s entanglement likely fuelled Mollet’s rush to Suez. (similarity 0.95)
• Suez and the Ben Bella affair destroyed Mollet’s Algerian policy. (similarity 0.92)
• Mollet lacked the political strength to release Ben Bella as peace negotiators. (similarity 0.88)
• Suez guaranteed eventual Algerian independence while stiffening French resolve to win. (similarity 0.82)
• France believed wrongly that toppling Nasser would collapse the Algerian revolt. (similarity 0.79)
• The Suez debacle jolted French morale and hardened the war’s brutality (similarity 0.79)
• The Ben Bella hijacking sealed off any negotiated end to the war. (similarity 0.79)
• Suez shattered Britain’s independent foreign policy and France’s trust in Anglo-Saxons (similarity 0.78)
• Suez’s humiliating withdrawal devastated returning French troops’ morale in Algeria (similarity 0.78)
• Francisation destroyed Algeria’s native political cadres, leaving no negotiating partners. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Suez and the Ben Bella affair destroyed Mollet’s Algerian policy. #expands (0.85) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 497
• Algeria’s entanglement likely fuelled Mollet’s rush to Suez. #complicates (0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 493