50th anniversary of National Emigration Day
On October 5, 1961, the police prefect of Seine (Ile de France) decreed a curfew from 8:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. against Algerians. At the call of the French Federation of the National Liberation Front (FLN) in the Paris region, Algerian emigration demonstrated en masse in Paris on October 17, 1961 to protest against this discriminatory curfew.
Algerians demonstrated peacefully to denounce the unjust measures that had been imposed on them, including negotiations with the National Liberation Front (FLN) as well as the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (GPRA) and Algeria's right to independence.
This peaceful demonstration was met with repression, and the police forces attacked the Algerians who were demonstrating that day. The toll was heavy: hundreds of dead, injured and missing, as well as a significant number of internees. The latter suffered the worst torture and abuse and as they were not entitled to any care, several died and were thrown into the Seine.
The repression of October 17, 1961, which marked a decisive turning point in the Algerian revolution, made it possible to strengthen the cohesion of the community of Algerians in France.
Today, the massacres of October 17, 1961 have been able to reach the universal space and regain their place in collective memory through the mobilization of historians, associations and organizations in order to commemorate this major event in the national liberation struggle.
Algerians demonstrated peacefully to denounce the unjust measures that had been imposed on them, including negotiations with the National Liberation Front (FLN) as well as the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (GPRA) and Algeria's right to independence.
This peaceful demonstration was met with repression, and the police forces attacked the Algerians who were demonstrating that day. The toll was heavy: hundreds of dead, injured and missing, as well as a significant number of internees. The latter suffered the worst torture and abuse and as they were not entitled to any care, several died and were thrown into the Seine.
The repression of October 17, 1961, which marked a decisive turning point in the Algerian revolution, made it possible to strengthen the cohesion of the community of Algerians in France.
Today, the massacres of October 17, 1961 have been able to reach the universal space and regain their place in collective memory through the mobilization of historians, associations and organizations in order to commemorate this major event in the national liberation struggle.