The French economy’s prosperity rested on Saharan oil and gas

Evidence

Vast sums of French capital had already been poured into its exploitation; the future prosperity of the Gaullist economy was predicated upon it. Altruistically, the French delegates at Evian expounded the intention of developing the Sahara resources for the benefit of all former French colonies adjacent. De Gaulle was adamant. “The petroleum, that’s France and uniquely France,” he told Joxe, adding: “The Algerian Sahara is a juridical and nationalist fiction devoid of any historical foundation.” Equally immovable, the Algerian delegates declared: “The Sahara is an integral part of Algeria: there can be no discussion about the integrity of Algerian territory.” It was the formula unaltered since the Soummam Conference of 1956. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1437

Categorization

• XREF: Soummam Conference 1956 appears here and elsewhere as a fixed F.L.N. line; relevant to tracking the concept’s permutations. — connects to: France’s Sahara claims rested on cartographic fictions until oil made it valuable.; Severing Algeria proved a net economic gain for France; France granted sub-Saharan colonies conditional independence to keep control. — Fanny Pigeaud_ Ndongo Samba Sylla, Africa’s Last Colonial Currency, 85 (+3 more)

Related

• France’s Sahara claims rested on cartographic fictions until oil made it valuable. (similarity 0.89)
• Saharan oil discovery added an economic motive to France’s Algerian war (similarity 0.88)
• Saharan oil gave France a new economic motive to win the war (similarity 0.87)
• Severing Algeria proved a net economic gain for France (similarity 0.86)
• The Sahara dispute turned on oil wealth rather than geography or history. (similarity 0.86)
• Saharan oil gave France a vastly increased economic motive for retaining Algeria (similarity 0.85)
• The Algerian war cost France ten times what the oil was worth (similarity 0.83)
• France claimed the Sahara was artificially drawn and never integral to Algeria (similarity 0.83)
• Algeria’s oil nationalization triggered French economic retaliation (similarity 0.82)
• De Gaulle abandoned the Sahara as an artificial construction in September 1961. (similarity 0.81)
• The Constantine Plan proposed deep economic integration of Algeria with France (similarity 0.80)
• The Constantine Plan made unprecedented economic investment in Algeria (similarity 0.80)
• Saharan oil drew Anglo-American and Italian interests into the Algerian conflict (similarity 0.79)
• Aron argued the Algerian war cost ten times the oil’s value (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• The Algerian war cost France ten times what the oil was worth #complicates (0.60)
• The C.I.A. allegedly offered to arm the O.A.S. for access to Saharan oil #expands (0.55) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1514
• The Constantine Plan proposed deep economic integration of Algeria with France #expands (0.40) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 937