Agreements of Evian

The agreements of Evian are the result of negotiations between the representatives of the France and the Provisional government of the Algerian Republic formed by the Front of national release (FLN) during the Guerre of Algeria. These agreements are signed the March 18th 1962 with Evian and immediately result in a applicable Cessez-le-feu on all the Algerian territory as of the following day.

These agreements put an end to eight years of a war which did not bear yet the name from there and for which the France had deployed approximately: 400000 men and during whom of: 250000 with: 400000 Algerian was killed (more than one million according to the FLN).

Legal qualifications and policy issues

The term of Accords of Evian is a journalistic term. The official title in is: general Declaration of the two delegations of March 18th, 1962 . One cannot speak about agreements in right, since only can sign and ratify treated those which have a legal personality in international law; however, Algeria was not a State at the time of the signature.

A corollary question is the qualification of war. Just as for the term of agreements, only a State can make the war in right (would be this only because the declaration of war is a treaty and that it is necessary for that to have the legal entity). The concept of civil war does not have an existence in right (one speaks rather about disorder to the law and order, revolt or revolution, according to the intensity of the confrontation).

Behind these legal qualifications, are actually real policy issues, those of the international recognition of a State and recognition of the exactions made by a State on another.

For this reason, the term of war of Algeria was recognized only very tardily in France. It is about Mr. Jacques Chirac, who, during its first mandate (June 1999), finally employed this term, thus involving true “blazes of memories”.

However, if France recognized the war, only the individual acts made by the soldiers were also recognized officially. Organized character of the repression of the Algerians (tortures…) by the soldiers in the name of the French State, it has, never recognized.

Negotiators

Great stakes of the negotiation

the statute of the European minority of Algeria.
the case of the the Sahara
military bases (Seas el Kébir…) and the French Nuclear tests.

Political tendencies

The known text as the “agreements” of Evian includes/understands two parts:

a agreement of Cease-fire , whose application is fixed at the following day March 19th 1962
of the governmental declarations relating to Algeria, which relate in particular to:

the transitional period until the Referendum of self-determination. For this period were set up a provisional Executive and a High-Commissioner representing the French State
the release of the prisoners in a twenty days deadline and a measurement of general amnesty
the organization of a referendum of self-determination within six months three month minimum and maximum

On the assumption that, following the referendum, the solution of independence would be adopted:

of the guarantees planned for the people preserving the civil statute of French right
programming of the withdrawal of the French military forces

Application

The March 19th 1962 at 12 noon it is put an end to military operations and any armed action on the unit with the Algerian territory.

If the French part respects the text of the agreements scrupulously, applying it even with several years of anticipation with regard to the withdrawal of the military forces, the FLN on its side, and the Algerian government which succeeds to him, are not considered committed by this text, which after all carries only the title of “declaration” .

In particular, the cease-fire, applied immediately by the French Army which “returned in its barracks” and initially devotes the essence of its efforts to the fight against the secret armed Organization (OAS), does not put fine at the Terrorisme. Besides the attacks of the OAS, which claims to prevent the implementation of the agreements, as of April a wave of attacks succeeds, in particular removals of people, which break out against the French civilians and the Harki S , knowing their apogee after independence, so that the number of European civilian victims and especially Moslem women of the war of Algeria is much higher after March 19th than front . 300 French soldiers are killed by the FLN in Algeria between March and July 1962 .

A million French citizens must take refuge in Metropolitan France. Freedom of movement of the people between France and Algeria functions after independence only in the direction south-north.

The March 19th at 12 noon the application of the Agreement S signed the day before to Evian between the French government and the Provisional government of the Algerian Republic takes effect. It was eight years the official end of civil war in Algeria. However, the very same day of its application, the agreements are violated by FLN by making a big number of deaths. For France one deducts close to 30 000 died and 250 000 wounded .

Closed additional and deferment

Commemoration

Certain organizations of war veterans of the War of Algeria, of which most important by the number of members, FNACA (370 000 members) dispute the date of the December 5th decided by the government for this commemoration.

See too

External bond

general Declaration of the two delegations March 18th, 1962, on the site of the President of the Algerian Republic

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