The 6 February collapse discredited French promises among Algerian Muslims

Evidence

Combined with the emasculation of the 1947 statute, the electoral frauds marked an important stage in the crystallising of Muslim rage; it also meant that, after 1954, when any French leader talked about offers of “free elections” no Muslim would believe him. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 222 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

To Muslim minds, particularly sensitive to prestige and baraka, the humiliation made a deep impression. The reaction of many was: “France has had it; so why not pay our taxes to the Germans, instead of to France?” … The population is therefore very poor, and the food and clothing position among the people has caused us all a lot of worry. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 116 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

But, as indicated by the examples above, the fierce reprisal and the cruel, indiscriminate injustice did take place on the French side — as indeed they take place in every similar war. What is equally sure is that, as the S.A.S. captain pointed out to Alain Manévy, such acts usually militated against French interests in the long run. Looked at from the other side of the lines, this is confirmed by Herb Greer. Reporting a particularly brutal French reprisal in which women were killed, he quotes a member of the F.L.N. as declaring: “Voilà, we’ve won another battle. They hate the French a little more now. The stupid bastards are winning the war for us.” — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 525 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: European settler demonstrations on February 6, 1956 pushed Guy Mollet to abandon negotiated peace.; The February 6 street victory convinced Muslims that French promises were worthless; The February 6 hysteria also dashed the French army’s standing with Muslim Algerians (+6 more)

Related

• The February 6 street victory convinced Muslims that French promises were worthless (similarity 0.95)
• Electoral fraud destroyed Muslim trust in French promises of free elections. (similarity 0.85)
• Muslim observers saw French lassitude as the source of imminent victory (similarity 0.85)
• Electoral fraud destroyed Muslim trust in all future French reform offers (similarity 0.84)
• The 1940 defeat fatally undermined French prestige in Algerian Muslim eyes (similarity 0.83)
• By late 1960 both Muslim and European Algerians had lost faith in de Gaulle (similarity 0.82)
• Brutal French reprisals backfired by deepening Algerian hatred of France (similarity 0.81)
• European liberals and Muslim Algerians shared hopes for a negotiated peace before 1956. (similarity 0.80)
• Fear of castration conditioned brutal French reprisals against Algerians. (similarity 0.80)
• Rapidly shifting loyalties in wartime France weakened Algerian trust in any authority (similarity 0.79)
• France’s refusal to restrain settler fascism drove liberal Algerians to the F.L.N. (similarity 0.78)
• Winning militarily while losing politically doomed the French army in Algeria (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Electoral fraud destroyed Muslim trust in French promises of free elections. #corroborates (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 222
• The 1940 defeat fatally undermined French prestige in Algerian Muslim eyes #exemplifies (0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 116
• Brutal French reprisals backfired by deepening Algerian hatred of France #corroborates (0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 525
• By late 1960 both Muslim and European Algerians had lost faith in de Gaulle #expands (0.45) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1276
• Franco-Algerian coexistence was destroyed by accumulated missed chances #qualifies (0.35) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1611