Remembering Sétif, the VE Day colonial massacres that ‘lost Algeria’ for France

Eighty years ago this week, as jubilant crowds in Europe celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany, French forces launched a ferocious colonial crackdown in eastern Algeria where demonstrators had dared to raise the Algerian flag. The Sétif massacres would lead Algerian nationalists to embrace armed struggle, paving the way for the country’s gruesome war of independence. Long forgotten in France, the tragedy still poisons relations between the two countries. 

May 9, 2025 - 18:00
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Remembering Sétif, the VE Day colonial massacres that ‘lost Algeria’ for France
Eighty years ago this week, as jubilant crowds in Europe celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany, French forces launched a ferocious colonial crackdown in eastern Algeria where demonstrators had dared to raise the Algerian flag. The Sétif massacres would lead Algerian nationalists to embrace armed struggle, paving the way for the country’s gruesome war of independence. Long forgotten in France, the tragedy still poisons relations between the two countries. 

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