All states have their dark secrets, too painful to behold, ours in Ireland, the Swiss in their bank vaults, France is – perhaps the most interesting case in post-war Europe – in uncovering what happened to at least 200 Algerian demonstrators in Paris, said to have been murdered by Police and secretly buried outside the city in 1961.
Michael White (2000)
The Event
In the height of the Algerian War, which was officially classified by France at the time as a “police action”, a protest occurred on the night of 17 October 1961. A curfew had been imposed by Maurice Papon, who at the time was the Prefet of the Paris Police, which restricted the free circulation of Algerian-French citizens in the city between 20:30 and 5:30 (am). What started as a peaceful protest against racist police practices and the curfew resulted in the death of over 200 protestors. Dozens of bodies were recovered from the Seine in the following days. Many were injured while others were detained and repatriated to Algeria. In total, several hundred people disappeared after the protest – some estimates suggests close to 400 people. However, the memory of the event was silenced and repressed for decades. President Francois Hollande would officially acknowledge the memory of protestors in October 2012 (51 years later) but stopped short of recognizing the level state crime instead referring to the event as “une sanglante repression” (a bloody repression).
Memory
Jacques Panijel began documentary efforts of 17 October 1961 by the end of the year in his docu-drama Octobre à Paris. This film reconstructed the events of that night and included witness accounts. Similarly to Gillo Pontecorvo’s La Bataille d’Alger (1966), cinemas across France refused to show the film due to pressure from the State, death threats and other security risks. By 1971, no French exhibitor or distributor was willing to even touch the film.
Marches began occurring in the 1980s for the 20th and 25th anniversaries which briefly revived the public consciousness of the event. However, archives remained closed to researchers and parties interested in discovering the events of 17 October 1961. By the end of the 1980s, historian Jean-Luc Einaudi obtained permission to view the archives and published the first account of the night La bataille de Paris (1991). In 1999, the Paris Prefecture of Police finally opened the archives related to the night to all historians.
On the 40th anniversary in 2001, a plaque was dedicated on the Pont Saint-Michel in honor of demonstrators who died, detained or disappeared.
A decade later several notable projects debuted in recognition of the 50th anniversary. This included a multi-media web documentary 17.10.61 – an interactive history through its use of maps, timelines and testimonies from eight different individuals involved in the events of that night. This project drew on a full range of archives available and presents the memory in a more comprehensive, complex manner avoiding the older, simplistic dichotomy of good and evil, French and Algerian.
Didier Daeninckx returned once more to the subject after his 1986 novel, Meurtres pour mémoire, with a graphic novel (BD) entitled Octobre noire. He presents an imitate visual representation of the massacre and the devastating effects on protestors and their families.
Yasmina Adi released a documentary Ici on noie les algériens (Here we drown Algerians). She used archival documents, witness testimony and historical reenactment to portray the history of the day. Moreover, Panijel’s film Octobre à Paris was finally released in theaters 50 years later. The link between the two films palyed a crucial role in the reception of Adi’s film.
60th Anniversary
On the 60th anniversary, an event was held by President Macron at the Elysée which commemorated the 25 000 demonstrators and the 12 000 who were detained as well as those injured and killed (see link for more information on the event).
Resources
If you’re interested in learning more about the events, here is a list of resources I’d recommend:
Films
- Ici on noie les algériens (documentary)
- Octobre à Paris (documentary)
- Nuit noire 17 octobre 1961
- Caché
Books
- Octobre noire
- La Seine était rouge
- Meurtre pour mémoires
- Le sourire de Brahim
Theater
- Née un 17 octobre
If you have any other suggestions or recommendations, please let us know in the comments or send us a message!
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