1961 Paris massacre

AdamRed222

New Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2025
Messages
18
Reaction score
10
  • #1
The 1961 Paris Massacre was a mass killing of protesting Algerians during a demonstration in Paris. The massacre occurred on 17th October 1961.

On 5 October 1961, the Prefecture of Police introduced a curfew from 8.30 p.m. to 5.30 a.m. in Paris and its suburbs for "Algerian Muslim workers", "French Muslims" and "French Muslims of Algeria". At the time, France was engaged in a war against the National Liberation Front or FLN, a nationalist movement which aimed to free Algeria from French colonial rule. As part of the war, the FLN launched a bombing campaign in Paris between August and October 1961, which killed 11 policemen. In response to the curfew, the French Federation of the FLN called for a demonstration.

Between 4,000 to 5,000 people succeeded in demonstrating peacefully on the Grands Boulevards from République to Opéra, without incident. Blocked at Opéra by police forces, the demonstrators backtracked. Reaching the Rex cinema, the police opened fire on the crowd and charged, leading to several deaths. On the Neuilly bridge (separating Paris from the suburbs), the police detachments and FPA members also shot at the crowd, killing some. A number of Algerians were also thrown into the Seine River and drowned as a result. Following the massacre, the police archives were sealed to anyone looking to investigate until the 1990s, when they were eventually reopened. Furthermore, the police prefecture claimed that only two people died. It wasn't until 40 years after the massacre, on 17 October 2001, that a plaque was unveiled to remember the victims of the massacre. To this day, it's unknown how many people died, but estimates range from 40 to between 200 and 300.



 

Guardians Monthly Goal

Staff online

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
112
Guests online
1,834
Total visitors
1,946

Forum statistics

Threads
636,527
Messages
18,698,653
Members
243,735
Latest member
katylynn
Back
Top