The Algerian war cost France ten times what the oil was worth

Evidence

In a booklet, L’Algérie et la République, published in the summer of 1958, Raymond Aron, the distinguished writer and contributor to the conservative Le Figaro, pointed out that the annual cost of the war “is more or less equal to ten times the profits which would be derived from twenty million tons of crude petroleum,” and that “those who insist or suggest that Algerian autonomy would entail the loss of the petroleum for France are either ignorant or liars….” He predicted: “The best way for France to lose the Sahara oil is to want to keep it for herself.” — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 754 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Already in 1945 French oil companies had begun prospecting in the Sahara, and shortly after the beginning of the Algerian war a major strike was made at Edjelé on the Libyan frontier. With the opening up of the Hassi-Messaoud field, French oilmen predicted euphorically that they had at their fingertips resources similar to those of the Middle East. From 5 million tons in the first year, 1958, it was reckoned production would reach 14 million in 1962, and that it would suffice to satisfy all France’s oil requirements by 1980. With the menace that Suez presented to Middle East oil supplies, here was a glowing prospect of securing the nation’s need for the future, as well as solving her acute balance of payments problem. Quite quietly, France now found herself with a new motive for winning the Algerian war that went far beyond any consideration for the one million pieds noirs. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 753 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Aron argued the Algerian war cost ten times the oil’s value — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 754; Saharan oil discovery added an economic motive to France’s Algerian war — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 753; Saharan oil gave France a new economic motive to win the war (+1 more)

Related

• Aron argued the Algerian war cost ten times the oil’s value (similarity 0.93)
• Saharan oil discovery added an economic motive to France’s Algerian war (similarity 0.92)
• Saharan oil gave France a new economic motive to win the war (similarity 0.90)
• France’s Sahara claims rested on cartographic fictions until oil made it valuable. (similarity 0.87)
• Severing Algeria proved a net economic gain for France (similarity 0.87)
• The Sahara dispute turned on oil wealth rather than geography or history. (similarity 0.85)
• Saharan oil gave France a vastly increased economic motive for retaining Algeria (similarity 0.85)
• Algeria’s oil nationalization triggered French economic retaliation (similarity 0.83)
• The French economy’s prosperity rested on Saharan oil and gas (similarity 0.83)
• Algerian independence coincided with the start of France’s economic miracle. (similarity 0.78)
• France claimed the Sahara was artificially drawn and never integral to Algeria (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Aron argued the Algerian war cost ten times the oil’s value #corroborates (1.00) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 754
• Saharan oil discovery added an economic motive to France’s Algerian war #expands (0.40) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 753
• Saharan oil gave France a new economic motive to win the war #expands (0.30)