Referendum in France on self-determination in Algeria

On January 8, 1961 , a referendum was held in France on Algeria's self-determination . 72.7 percent of those who voted supported the law on the autonomy of Algeria, favored by President Charles de Gaulle .

History and context

→ Main articles : History of Algeria  and the Algerian War

French colonial rule in Algeria

Administrative division of Algeria between 1934 and 1955. French Départements Sahara Territories



The systematic colonization of Algeria by France began in 1830 with the occupation of the capital Algiers . Gradually, the French colonial administration expanded to include the entire territory of what is now Algeria. The coastal area was officially annexed in 1848 and administratively divided into three departments ( Oran , Alger and Constantine ). In the years 1956 to 1958, further departmental divisions followed. The desert areas of the Sahara , located south of the Atlas Mountains and belonging to today's Algeria, were organized as Territoires du Sud in 1902 and joined to France with effect from August 7, 1957 in the form of two "Sahara Départements" ( Oasis and Saoura ). The country was opened to European settlers at an early stage. These came not only from France, but also from other Mediterranean countries . The settlers often took possession of the best arable land and used it for export-oriented agriculture, e.g. B. viticulture . In 1954 there were just under one million people of European descent (most of whom were born in Algeria) in Algeria. Revolts by the local population were suppressed with great severity by the French colonial power. On the other hand, quite a few locals also adopted French ways of life and, in some cases, the French language and came to terms with colonial rule. The majority of the indigenous Berber- Arab population did not benefit from French rule and, to a certain extent, lived underprivileged poverty as second-class citizens. After the Second World War , the French colonial empire was gradually dissolved. A signal for all colonial peoples ruled by France was the French defeat in the Indochina War in 1953. From 1954, open civil war broke out in Algeria between the Algerian National Liberation Front ( Front de liberation nationale , FLN) and the French colonial power. The FLN carried out numerous bomb attacks on French facilities, not only in Algeria but also in metropolitan France.

De Gaulle's presidency

Charles de Gaulle in 1958

On May 13, 1958, there was an attempted coup by French generals in Algiers who wanted to force Algeria to remain with France. The resulting national crisis brought General Charles de Gaulle to power and marked the beginning of the Fifth French Republic . De Gaulle was able to end the coup and stabilize the republic by introducing a presidential constitution and having himself elected president. The Algerian war continued unimpressed. In 1959, de Gaulle expressed his ideas on the future relationship between Algeria and France. From de Gaulle's point of view, there were three models for the future relationship between France and Algeria. On the one hand the complete state separation of Algeria and France ("la sécession") , on the other hand the complete integration and assimilation of Algeria in France ("la francisation") , and on the third the partial independence of Algeria with political ties to the French mother country ("l 'association') . De Gaulle clearly favored the third model. With the second model, he feared that the full integration of millions of North African Muslims would not succeed or that French culture would become too foreign to them. In the case of Algeria's partial independence, the “Algerian Algeria” (“Algérie algérienne”) , as de Gaulle called it, it remained partly unclear what this should look like in concrete terms. According to de Gaulle, Algeria should be given limited independence, with France retaining certain reserve rights (e.g. with regard to defense, foreign and domestic policy).

De Gaulle announced a referendum on the planned partial independence of Algeria. It was the first referendum since the founding of the Fifth Republic. The question asked in the referendum was:

Election recommendations of the parties

Political party	Voting recommendation
Section Française de l'Internationale Ouvrière (SFIO)	Yes
Mouvement republicain popular (MRP)	Yes
Union for the New République (UNR)	Yes
Parti communiste (PCF)	No
Parti socialiste unifié (PSU)	No
Regroupement national pour l'unité de la République (RNUR)	No
Parti radical	No
Center national des indépendants et paysans (CNIP)	without recommendation

«Approvez-vous le projet de loi soumis au peuple français par le président de la République et concernant l'autodétermination des populations algériennes et l'organization des pouvoirs publics en Algérie avant l'autodétermination? »

"Do you agree to the bill that was presented to the French people by the President of the Republic and that affects the self-determination of the Algerian people and the organization of state authority in Algeria before self-determination?"

- Conseil constitutionnel : referendum question

Among the political parties, the Gaullist Union pour la Nouvelle République (UNR) as well as the bourgeois-conservative Mouvement républicain populaire (MRP) supported a “yes” vote. The socialists united in the Section Française de l'Internationale Ouvrière (SFIO) also spoke out in favor of a “yes”. The Communists (PCF) and the “United Socialists” (PSU) recommended a “No”, arguing that with a “Yes” vote, de Gaulle would receive a mandate to continue the war against the provisional Algerian government established by the FLN would. The parliamentary group Regroupement national pour l'unité de la République (RNUR), formed in 1958 out of opposition to de Gaulle's Algerian policy, also agitated for a “no”.

Results

Overall result

Of the 23,986,913 voters, 17,447,669 (72.73%) voted with “yes”, 5,817,775 (24.25%) with “no” and 721,469 votes (3.01%) were invalid.

Results by departments in metropolitan France

area	electoral legitimate	Voters		Valid votes		Yes votes		No
		number	%	number	%	number	%	number	%
Metropolitan France	27.184.408	20,791,246	76.48	20.196.547	97.14	15.200.073	75.26	4,996,474	24.74
Overseas departments	398.099	241.174	60.58	234,533	97.25	211,376	90.13	23,157	9.87
Algeria	4,470,215	2,626,689	58.76	2,517,515	95.84	1,749,969	69.51	767,546	30.49
Sahara	291,692	193.018	66.17	187,533	97.16	168,563	89.88	18,970	10.12
Overseas territories	175.819	134,786	76.66	129,316	95.94	117,688	91.01	11,628	8.99
total	32.520.233	23,986,913	73.76	23.265.444	96.99	17,447,669	74.99	5,817,775	25.01

Metropolitan France

Results by departments in metropolitan France, the Algerian and Sahara as well as overseas departments and the overseas territories

voter turnout

Results by departments in metropolitan France

Department	electoral legitimate	electoral participation	Percent yes	Percent no	Percent Invalid
Ain	197.060	68.1	79.3	20.7	1.8
Aisne	288,439	80.9	75.1	24.9	2.1
Allier	242.860	71.7	64.4	35.6	2.8
Alpes-Maritimes	340,512	75.7	68.9	31.1	2.1
Ardèche	163,422	72.3	74.9	25.1	2.6
Ardennes	165.148	79.4	77.5	22.5	1.8
Ariège	94,072	66.9	66.2	33.8	2.6
Aube	150.372	76.7	76.9	23.1	2.4
Aude	169,520	67.2	67.1	32.9	3.8
Aveyron	192.657	75.8	80.9	19.1	4.6
Bas-Rhin	457.964	76.8	91.2	8.8	1.7
Basses-Alpes	56,784	72.5	69.3	30.7	3.0
Basses-Pyrénées	286,562	77.0	83.2	16.8	1.6
Bouches-du-Rhône	657.971	75.7	64.6	35.4	1.8
Calvados	269.494	80.1	84.6	15.4	1.7
Cantal	112,591	66.2	82.5	17.5	1.5
Charente	204.286	74.3	72.5	27.5	2.7
Charente-Maritime	281,524	72.6	76.6	23.4	2.4
Cher	183,893	74.5	67.4	32.6	2.3
Corrèze	163.364	72.6	61.9	38.1	2.1
Corsica	163.053	49.6	76.1	23.9	0.4
Côte-d'Or	221,798	74.0	79.9	20.1	2.1
Côtes-du-Nord	329,962	79.1	77.2	22.8	1.4
Creuse	118,460	63.6	66.5	33.5	1.9
Deux-Sèvres	200,838	76.6	84.3	15.7	2.9
Dordogne	251.285	76.9	68.3	31.7	3.0
Doubs	201.935	78.4	85.9	14.1	1.5
Drôme	178,305	71.2	74.2	25.8	2.7
Your	203.277	78.8	76.2	23.8	2.6
Eure-et-Loir	164,678	78.3	76.8	23.2	2.6
Finistère	499.275	78.0	83.0	17.0	1.0
Gard	256,818	73.7	63.4	36.6	2.9
Gers	113.393	67.3	67.9	32.1	3.5
Gironde	555.028	75.1	77.2	22.8	1.9
Haut-Rhin	329,990	81.3	90.8	9.2	2.1
Haute-Garonne	341,886	72.6	69.3	30.7	3.2
Haute Loire	141,632	70.3	83.9	16.1	2.6
Haute-Marne	117.961	79.2	82.8	17.2	2.3
Haute-Saône	132,445	76.3	79.4	20.6	2.1
Haute-Savoie	182.973	71.7	85.2	14.8	1.6
Haute-Vienne	227,636	71.3	61.6	38.4	2.4
Hautes-Alpes	54,718	69.7	75.7	24.3	2.8
Hautes-Pyrénées	132,547	71.8	74.4	25.6	2.0
Herault	294.170	71.3	65.6	34.4	2.3
Ille-et-Vilaine	374.964	79.6	85.9	14.1	1.8
Indre	161,255	73.9	67.9	32.1	2.9
Indre-et-Loire	233,640	75.3	75.0	25.0	2.9
Isère	390,343	69.4	72.7	27.3	2.1
law	139,235	73.3	80.1	19.9	2.1
Country	172.933	77.2	77.8	22.2	2.0
Loir-et-Cher	157.149	76.7	73.5	26.5	3.2
Loire	408.241	70.9	74.1	25.9	3.3
Loire-Atlantique	471.713	78.3	82.3	17.7	1.8
Loiret	230,762	79.3	77.6	22.4	2.7
Lot	100,422	75.3	72.5	27.5	3.2
Lot-et-Garonne	164.353	75.8	64.3	35.7	3.3
Lozère	55.134	70.5	84.3	15.7	2.3
Maine-et-Loire	325.174	75.8	84.2	15.8	2.6
Some	270,861	80.1	91.0	9.0	1.8
Marne	250,968	76.2	76.7	23.3	2.1
Mayenne	155,475	82.0	87.5	12.5	2.9
Meurthe-et-Moselle	351,653	81.5	82.5	17.5	1.5
Meuse	121,581	81.9	88.0	12.0	1.8
Morbihan	340,554	78.0	86.1	13.9	1.0
Moselle	445,477	82.9	89.8	10.2	1.6
Nièvre	155.259	72.7	70.4	29.6	2.5
North	1,304,053	84.9	76.7	23.3	1.9
Oise	264.229	80.4	71.5	28.5	2.6
Orne	166,436	80.5	87.0	13.0	2.2
Pas-de-Calais	746.410	84.3	74.3	25.7	2.0
Puy-de-Dôme	310.157	67.4	74.5	25.5	2.2
Pyrénées-Orientales	149.984	67.2	65.4	34.6	2.4
Rhône	596.920	71.8	75.4	24.6	2.1
Saône-et-Loire	328,806	67.6	74.7	25.3	1.4
Sarthe	260,868	75.3	74.7	25.3	2.8
Savoie	153,591	68.4	78.6	21.4	1.8
His	3,275,883	77.1	68.4	31.6	1.9
Seine-et-Marne	293,530	77.4	71.0	29.0	2.4
Seine-et-Oise	1,211,676	79.9	67.6	32.4	2.1
Seine-Maritime	591.030	78.0	74.5	25.5	2.2
Somme	292.012	83.6	70.3	29.7	2.5
Camouflage	200.991	78.1	71.1	28.9	5.2
Tarn-et-Garonne	106,535	76.3	67.1	32.9	4.7
Territoire de Belfort	61,246	76.1	84.1	15.9	1.6
Var	269,331	73.5	68.7	31.3	2.0
Vaucluse	171,987	76.8	65.5	34.5	4.0
Vendée	254.285	81.1	84.4	15.6	3.4
Vienne	204.255	75.7	78.8	21.2	2.9
Vosges	231.841	77.2	84.2	15.8	2.3
Yonne	168,648	74.4	72.6	27.4	2.5
Together	27.184.408	74.3	75.3	24.7	2.9

Algerian departments

In the 13 Algerian departments, voter turnout was significantly lower than in metropolitan France. The only two departments ( Alger and Oran ) in which a majority of those who voted “No” were also located here. The two Sahara departments, on the other hand, voted with a high turnout and large majorities with “yes”.

Results by departments in Algeria

Department	electoral legitimate	electoral participation	Percent yes	Percent no	Percent Invalid
Alger	687.006	54.7	40.1	59.9	4.6
Batna	260,859	67.4	92.7	7.3	1.8
Bône	347.705	59.4	68.6	31.4	2.9
Constantine	561.505	52.3	67.5	32.5	5.4
Médéa	327,475	58.8	83.6	16.4	3.8
Mostaganem	307.810	68.5	75.7	24.3	4.4
Oran	452.155	60.4	42.7	57.3	4.6
Orléansville	311.181	64.4	75.9	24.1	4.2
Saïda	99,447	70.9	82.4	17.6	6.2
Sétif	467.081	51.2	87.1	12.9	2.4
Tizi-Ouzou	334.630	61.3	80.9	19.1	4.4
Tiaret	150,677	54.5	81.0	19.0	4.3
Tlemcen	162,684	62.3	81.0	19.0	6.0
total	4,470,215	58.8	69.5	30.5	4.2

Results in the two Sahara départements of Algeria

Department	electoral legitimate	electoral participation	Percent yes	Percent no	Percent Invalid
Oasis	196.856	61.8	90.9	9.1	2.7
Saoura	94,836	75.3	88.2	11.8	3.0
Together	291,692	66.2	89.9	10.1	2.8

Overseas departments

Results in the overseas departments

Department	electoral legitimate	electoral participation	Percent yes	Percent no	Percent Invalid
Guadeloupe	113.937	56.6	81.5	18.5	3.1
Guyana	12,863	38.0	94.6	5.4	8.9
Martinique	132,880	61.0	96.6	10.2	9.4
Reunion	138,419	65.6	95.6	4.4	1.7
total	398.099	60.6	92.1	10.1	4.8

Overseas territories

Results by departments in metropolitan France

territory	electoral legitimate	electoral participation	Percent yes	Percent no	Percent Invalid
Comoros	75,615	89.4	99.0	1.0	0.2
Somali coast	23,375	66.1	94.8	5.2	3.5
New Caledonia	37,088	59.8	92.8	7.2	20.9
New Hebrides	1,208	71.9	93.4	6.6	1.8
Polynesia	32,115	71.2	61.6	38.4	0.4
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon	2,917	82.9	96.5	3.5	1.2
Wallis and Futuna	3,501	98.4	100.0	0.0	0.2
Together	175.819	76.7	91.0	9.0	4.1

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q} The percentages for yes and no votes refer to the valid votes.
   The invalid votes include the votes that are invalid for formal reasons, as well as the empty ballot papers.

Development after the referendum

The outcome of the referendum was initially a great success for de Gaulle. He could feel that his conception of Algeria policy was confirmed. However, the vast majority of Algerians of European descent, who continued to favor the concept of an Algerié française , an Algeria under direct French rule, had voted against the proposed law, but had been overruled by the indigenous Algerian Muslim majority population. As a reaction to the outcome of the referendum, a secret army organization was formed, the Organization de l'armée secrète (OAS), which carried out acts of terror against supporters of Algerian independence in order to stop the looming independence of Algeria. On April 22nd, 1961, there was a second military coup led by the OAS, the “coup of the generals” in Algiers, which collapsed after a few days. Not only did many Muslim Algerians fall victim to the acts of terrorism, but also many bystanders. De Gaulle himself also escaped two bomb attacks by the OAS on September 8, 1961 in Pont-sur-Seine and on August 22, 1962 in Petit-Clamart, south of Paris . The OAS eventually lost all support in the French public because of its ruthlessness. The Pieds-Noir , the French Algeria, who sympathized to a considerable extent with the OAS or supported it directly, also lost the sympathy of the French public. On March 18, 1962, after another referendum, the Évian treaties were signed between France and the FLN, as a result of which Algeria finally became independent, completely and not in the form of dependence on France originally intended by de Gaulle. More than 700,000 French Algerians fled hastily from Algeria to France, leaving behind all their belongings. In France, their fate met with relatively little sympathy due to the previous OAS terror, which led to the feeling of having been "betrayed by mainland France" among the Pieds-noir . With the pieds-noir , tens of thousands of Harkis (pro-French indigenous Algerians) fled , who were defenselessly exposed to the FLN's acts of revenge in their home country and were murdered there by the thousands.

literature

• François Goguel: Geographie du référendum du 8 janvier 1961 dans la France métropolitaine . In: Revue française de science politique 11, No. 1. 1961, p. 5–28 , doi : 10.3406 / rfsp.1961.392606 (French, persee.fr - an election analysis, especially in comparison to the previous parliamentary election in 1958 ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} CONSEIL CONSTITUTIONNEL: PROCLAMATION des résultats du Référendum du 8 janvier 1961 relatif au projet de loi concernant lautodétermination des populations algériennes et l'organization des pouvoirs publics en Algérie avant l'autodétermination. In: Journal officiel de la Republique Française. January 1, 1961, pp. 621–623 , accessed October 14, 2016 (French). 
2. ^ Par Benjamin Stora, Jane Marie Todd: Algeria, 1830-2000: A Short History. Cornell University Press (2004). ISBN 978-0-8014-8916-7 . P. 8
3. ↑ Le référendum sur l'autodétermination de l'Algérie. linternaute.com, accessed on October 22, 2016 (French, televised address by de Gaulles). 
4. ↑ Approval par les Français de l'autodétermination en Algérie. archivesdefrance.culture.gouv.fr, accessed on October 22, 2016 (French). 
5. ↑ Autodétermination en Algérie (1961). france-politique.fr, accessed on October 22, 2016 (French). 
6. ^ Constitution de la Ve République: Référendum sur l'autodétermination en Algérie. Digithèque University of Perpignan, accessed October 22, 2016 (French). 
7. ↑ Guy Pervillé: Les accords d'Evian (1962): Succès ou échec de la réconciliation franco-algérienne (1954-2012). Armand Colin (2012). ISBN 2-200-24907-1 . P. 73
8. ↑ Rainer Volk: The war that still hurts: France and the end of the Algerian conflict 50 years ago. (PDF) In: Insights and Perspectives. Bavarian State Center for Political Education, February 2012, accessed on October 22, 2016 .