Algeria: Independence through war (1954–1962)

Algeria was the extreme case of decolonization through violence. France considered Algeria part of France itself. Approximately one million European settlers (pieds-noirs) had lived in Algeria for generations. The National Liberation Front (FLN) launched an armed uprising in November 1954.

The eight-year war saw systematic French torture and brutal counterinsurgency, and FLN terrorism. It brought down the Fourth Republic and brought Charles de Gaulle to power in 1958. De Gaulle eventually negotiated independence in 1962. The pieds-noirs and Harkis (Algerians who had fought for France) fled to France in massive numbers. The war killed perhaps 300,000 to 500,000 Algerians.