January 24, 1960 · Algiers Theater
January 24, 1960
Ultra-nationalist French settlers (pieds-noirs) and sympathetic soldiers erected barricades in Algiers and fought with gendarmes to prevent de Gaulle from pursuing a negotiated settlement with the FLN. The 'ultras' believed de Gaulle was betraying French Algeria. After a week of standoff in which the army refused to storm the barricades, de Gaulle appeared on television in his general's uniform and demanded obedience — the barricades collapsed and the rebellion fizzled.
Commanders