Table Of ContentTHE INVENTION OF
DECOLONIZATION
THE INVENTION OF
DECOLONIZATION
The Algerian War and the Remaking of France
TODD SHEPARD
CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS
ITHACA AND LONDON
Copyright © 2006 by Cornell University
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this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any
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First published 2006 by Cornell University Press
Printed in the United States of America
Design by Scott Levine
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Shepard, Todd, 1969-
The invention of decolonization : the Algerian War and the
remaking of France / Todd Shepard,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8014-4360-2 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8014-4360-1 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Algeria—History—Revolution, 1954-1962—Influence.
2. Decolonization—France—History—20th century. 3. De
colonization—Algeria—History—20th century. 4. France—
Ethnic relations—Political aspects—History—20th century.
5. Algeria—Ethnic relations—Political aspects—History—
20th century. 6. Repatriation—France—History—20th cen
tury. 7. National characteristics, French. 8. France—Civiliza
tion—1945- I* Title. /
DT295.S477 2006
3 2 5.650944*0904 6—dc22 2005028791
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Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
To my parents, David and Catherine Shepard,
and my brother, Bradley Shepard,
for making so much possible
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
List of Abbreviations xi
Chronology of French Occupation of Algeria xiii
Introduction i
Part I: The Making and Forgetting of French Algeria 17
19
1. Muslim French Citizens from Algeria: A Short History
2. Inventing Decolonization 55
82
3. The “Tide of History” versus the Laws of the Republic
4. Forgetting French Algeria 101
Part II: Between France and Algeria 137
5. Making Algerians 139
6. Repatriation Rather Than Aliyah: The Jews of France
and the End of French Algeria 169
7. Veiled “Muslim” Women, Violent Pied Noir Men, and the
Family of France: Gender, Sexuality, and Ethnic Difference 183
Part III: The Exodus and After 205
8. Repatriating the Europeans 207
9. Rejecting the Muslims 229
10. The Post-Algerian-Republic 248
Conclusion: Forgetting Algerian France 269
Bibliography of Primary Sources 273
Index 279
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I gratefully acknowledge the friends and colleagues who made this book
possible. They are in no way responsible for any lapses of judgment or
knowledge. I am grateful to my parents, David and Catherine Shepard, and
my brother, Bradley Shepard, for their love and encouragement. My late
French “father,” Roger Langlade, introduced me to French history, John
Steinbeck, and his emphatic belief in justice and constant debate. I thank
John Ackerman at Cornell University Press for his encouragement, patience,
and attention. I also am grateful to the anonymous referees who read the
manuscript, to Katy Meigs, for her copyediting, and to Susan Barnett and
Ange Romeo-Hall at Cornell University Press for their fine work.
I came to graduate school already inspired by the teaching of Henry
Abelove, Claire Bond Potter, and Ann-Louise Shapiro. The Rutgers History
Department was exceedingly generous in their support. Among my teachers
at Rutgers, Omer Bartov, Belinda Davis, and Michael Adas gave form to my
understanding of history. Donald R. Kelley’s teaching and scholarship helped
me conceptualize a project that focuses on just a couple of years in a context
several centuries longer.
Françoise Gaspard, who welcomed me into her gay studies seminar in
Paris, has been particularly generous with her knowledge and her humor,
and even traveled from Paris to Norman, Oklahoma, to talk to my students
about the “veil question” in France. I thank her and Claude Servan-Schreiber
for their friendship and their support.
As an undergraduate, reading Joan W. Scott led me to pursue a career in
history, and I had the good fortune of being one of her graduate students.
Joan led me to archives, pushed me to ask new questions, and made over
arching connections. She has read more drafts of this project than anyone
else and continues to inspire me with her rigor and commitment.
I was fortunate to work under the direction of Bonnie G. Smith. She
taught me how to be a historian and how important writing well is to doing
history. Her confidence in my work and her support have been critical. Bon-
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
nie saw the potential of my topic before anyone else, including me. As a per
son and a scholar, she remains my model.
Scott Sandage, Suzanne Kaufman, Carol Helstosky, and Martin Summers
made my first years in graduate school much more pleasant than they are
supposed to be. I am thankful that Noah Elkin, Rick Jobs, Roxanne Pan-
chasi, and Patrick McDevitt were in my cohort. I continue to miss the late
Becca Gershenson.
In France, Daniel Borrillo and Didier Eribon, especially, as well as Pierre
Tévanian, Sidi Mohammed Barkat, Eric Fassin, Sylvie Thénault, Raphaëlle
Branche, Emmanuelle Saada, and Gérard Noiriel asked many questions and
helped me clarify my ideas. The archivists at the CARAN, the CAC, the
SHAT, the Quai d’Orsay, the Bureau of the Prime Minister, Catherine Aubel
at the Ministry of the Interior, Chantal Alexis at the Ministry of Justice,
Edward Arkwright at the Archives of the Senate, Chantal Blondeau at
L'Express, Sylvian Girandôn at Paris-Match, Ruth Valentini at Le Nouvel
Observateur, and others have left me in their debt and far more aware of
what I still need to study. I thank Siné for permission to reprint one of his
cartoons.
In Paris, I thank my friends Frédéric Biamonti, Stuart Michaels, Olivier
Trimon, Zina Iouravskaia, Antoine Guitton, Noëlle Dupuy, Marc Siegel,
Sandrine Sanos, David Halperin, Larry Norman, Daniel Hendrickson, Chuck
Walton, Hee Ko, and the late Michael Camille. Frederick Cooper, Joshua
Cole, and Patricia Lorcin helped me to think about decolonization in new
ways. Serguei Emeline helped me so much and made my life richer. Juliette
Cadiot, Judith Surkis, Oliver Samour, Sylvie Tissot, Sandrine Bertaux, and
Nicolas Jabko each contributed to my intellectual life and my world.
The University of Oklahoma offered a supportive environment in which
to work, especially the chair of the History Department, Robert Griswold,
and my colleagues, Jamie Hart, Norman Stillman, and Judith Lewis. The de
partment, the School for International and Area Studies, and the Oklahoma
Humanities Council supported my research and allowed me time to write.
Michael Alexander, Cathy Kelly, Elizabeth Miller, and Matthew Stratton of
fered their friendship and their intellectual support. Richard Immerman,
Beth Bailey, and David Farber welcomed me to Temple University.
Nicolas Jabko, Michael Alexander, and Sandrine Sanos read the entire
manuscript, and others read large portions of it, including Juliette Cadiot,
Judith Surkis, Jennifer Milligan, Dagmar Herzog, Amelia Lyons, and Laure
Blévis. My special thanks to the editing pens, probing questions, and thick
skins of Richard Kaye and Daniel Sherman.
I owe more than I can say to my friends Jennifer Milligan, Barbara Bal-
liet, Cheryl Clarke, and Rich Hamerla.
Finally, I thank Saïd Gahia. He already knew what I have been trying to
think about for years, and a lot more. Everything is clearer now.
Description:In this account of the Algerian War's effect on French political structures and notions of national identity, Todd Shepard asserts that the separation of Algeria from France was truly a revolutionary event with lasting consequences for French social and political life. For more than a century, Alger
