Wives’ telephone gossip transmitted news of the impending coup

Evidence

With all these comings and goings it was inevitable that word of the pending putsch should reach the ears of the government in Paris. In army circles in Algeria, what was afoot had been discussed fairly widely; on the night of the putsch a notable conversation took place on the open telephone between Madame de Saint-Hillier, wife of the commander of Massu’s old 10th Division, and Madame de Saint-Marc: “Dîtes-moi, Madame, is your husband up to some dirty trick tonight?” — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1359

Categorization

• XREF: Open telephone chatter recalls the porousness of security in colonial circles, a recurring theme.