It is an inglorious episode in France’s history. On October 17, 1961, a demonstration of Algerians organized in Paris by the French federation of the FLN is, when the curfew concerning them was established, repressed in blood.
Comme chaque année, Paris rend hommage aux nombreux Algériens tués, blessés ou disparus lors de la terrible répression de la manifestation pacifique du 17 octobre 1961. pic.twitter.com/2ShZCJbuc5
— Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) October 17, 2020
We are in the middle of the Algerian war. De Gaulle has returned to power since 1958 and the FLN wants to arrive in a position of strength to negotiate the conditions for the independence of Algeria
In a context of growing violence which sees an increase in attacks against the police and the formation of “anti-terrorist” groups ready to take justice into their own hands, and while police violence is increasing and deadly, it is decided to institute from October 5 a curfew for Algerians only.
In a press release, the infamous Prefect of Police Maurice Papon explains that this measure is taken “with the aim of putting an end without delay to the criminal acts of Algerian terrorists”.
And specifies:
“Algerian workers are most urgently advised to refrain from traveling at night in the streets of Paris and the Parisian suburbs, and more particularly between 8:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m.”
North Africans are also advised against traveling in groups, as the killings of police officers have been carried out by groups of three or four men. The “drinking establishments run and frequented by French Muslims” must close from 7 pm.
The FLN decides to organize a demonstration against what it considers to be an emergency law.
It is in a context of extreme tension that the demonstration of October 17 is being prepared. Little information is filtering out.
Protesters arrested and beaten
This Tuesday, October 17, it is raining in Paris. Between 20,000 and 30,000 Algerians (up to 50,000 for some), men, women and children, in Sunday clothes to signify their desire for dignity, begin to move towards the regrouping points.
The processions are divided into three sectors: the Etoile zone for Algerians from the western suburbs, the Saint-Michel and Saint-Germain boulevards for those of the southern suburbs and finally the Grands boulevards for those of the northern and northern suburbs. East.
Clashes erupt, arrests multiply. Between 6,000 and 7,000 Algerians were arrested and taken to the Palais des Sports and then to the Pierre-de-Coubertin Stadium. Hundreds of injured protesters have been directed to hospitals. In only five hospitals, there are 260 hospitalized wounded, including some victims of police violence at the Palais des Sports.
A hidden drama, the number of victims underestimated
Abuse is also carried out before arrival, in the police stations, at the police headquarters itself, or during transport to the Palais des sports, the Coubertin stadium, the Parc des Expositions, or even at the Vincennes Identification Center where some are transferred to be then deported to Algeria.
While Maurice Papon had mentioned two deaths and several wounded, the various researches carried out by historians evoke 38 to 120 or even more on October 17 and the following days. In a presentation made on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the massacre, the daily Le Monde refers to the execution of “dozens of Algerians, perhaps between 150 and 200”.
This drama will however be hidden for many years.
