Evian Accords 1962: The Agreement That Ended the Algerian War

The Evian Accords were the agreements signed on 18 March 1962 at Évian-les-Bains, a spa town on the French shore of Lake Geneva, that ended the Algerian War of Independence. Negotiated between the government of Charles de Gaulle and the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (GPRA), they set a ceasefire for 19 March and laid out the path to Algeria’s independence, approved by referendums later that year.

Background

France had ruled Algeria since the conquest that began in 1830 and treated its northern part as French departments, home to about one million European settlers known as pieds-noirs. The Algerian War of Independence, launched by the National Liberation Front (FLN) in November 1954, became one of the most brutal wars of decolonisation, marked by guerrilla attacks, bombings, the systematic use of torture and the forced relocation of rural populations.

A settler and army revolt in Algiers in May 1958 brought de Gaulle back to power and led to the Fifth Republic. Many settlers expected him to keep Algeria French, but in September 1959 he recognised Algerians’ right to self-determination. In a referendum in January 1961, French voters approved this policy, and in April 1961 a putsch by four generals in Algiers collapsed within days.

The negotiations

The first official talks opened at Évian on 20 May 1961 but broke down, chiefly over the future of the Sahara, where oil and gas had been discovered in 1956, and over guarantees for the European minority. The town paid a price for hosting them: on 31 March 1961 its mayor, Camille Blanc, was killed by a bomb planted by the OAS (Organisation armée secrète), a clandestine group of opponents of independence.

Secret meetings resumed at Les Rousses in the Jura in February 1962. The final round at Évian began on 7 March, and the accords were signed on 18 March by Krim Belkacem for the GPRA and by three French ministers led by Louis Joxe.

What the accords contained

The accords declared a ceasefire from noon on 19 March 1962 and provided for a referendum on self-determination in Algeria. They recognised Algerian sovereignty over the whole territory, including the Sahara. In return, France kept its naval base at Mers-el-Kébir on a 15-year lease, retained the use of its nuclear and missile test sites in the Sahara for five years and secured rights for French oil companies.

Europeans in Algeria were promised protection of their property and the choice, after three years, between Algerian citizenship and remaining French with guaranteed rights. Algeria would receive French economic and technical aid.

Key people

• Charles de Gaulle – President of France, who moved from ambiguity to accepting Algerian independence.
• Louis Joxe – French minister for Algerian affairs and head of the French delegation.
• Krim Belkacem – one of the founders of the FLN and the GPRA’s chief negotiator, who signed the accords.
• Benyoucef Benkhedda – President of the GPRA, who approved the agreement for the Algerian side.

Referendums and independence

On 8 April 1962 voters in metropolitan France approved the accords with about 91 per cent in favour. In Algeria, on 1 July 1962, about 99.7 per cent voted for independence in cooperation with France. De Gaulle recognised Algerian independence on 3 July, and Algeria celebrates its independence on 5 July, the anniversary of the French capture of Algiers in 1830.

Aftermath

The accords did not bring immediate peace. The OAS launched a campaign of bombings and assassinations in Algeria and France in the spring of 1962, which hastened the departure of the settlers. Around 800,000 pieds-noirs left for France in 1962 alone, most of them in a few chaotic months. On 5 July 1962 many Europeans were killed or disappeared in violence in Oran.

The harkis, Algerian Muslims who had served as auxiliaries with the French army, suffered most. Only a minority were evacuated to France, and many of those who stayed were killed in reprisals; estimates range from about 15,000 to well over 100,000 and remain bitterly disputed. Many of the guarantees for Europeans were never applied in practice, and Algeria nationalised its oil and gas industry in 1971.

Timeline

• 1954, 1 November: The FLN launches the Algerian War of Independence.
• 1959, 16 September: De Gaulle recognises Algerians’ right to self-determination.
• 1961, 31 March: Évian’s mayor, Camille Blanc, is killed by an OAS bomb.
• 1961, 20 May: The first Évian talks open; they break down in June.
• 1962, 18 March: The Evian Accords are signed.
• 1962, 19 March: The ceasefire comes into force at noon.
• 1962, 8 April: French voters approve the accords by referendum.
• 1962, 1 July: Algerians vote for independence.
• 1962, 3 July: France recognises Algerian independence.

Why it matters

The Evian Accords ended more than 130 years of French rule in Algeria and closed France’s last great colonial war. They transformed both countries: Algeria became an independent state, while France absorbed hundreds of thousands of returnees and began a long and still unfinished reckoning with the memory of the war.