AdamRed222
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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.
www.bbc.co.uk
webdoc.france24.com
justiceinconflict.org
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.
How a massacre of Algerians in Paris was covered up
French police killed at least 100 people in 1961, throwing some of them into the River Seine to drown them.
October 17, 1961: A massacre of Algerians in the heart of Paris
On October 17, 1961, as the brutal 1954-62 Algerian War was drawing to an end, Algerians living in the Paris area took to the streets in a peaceful protest in Paris planned by the independence movement the FLN’s French Federations. They were against a curfew imposed on them by head of the Paris...
Mass Atrocity Monday, 3/7/2016: The 1961 Paris Massacre
Did you know that in 1961, French police massacred more than 100 Algerians as they demonstrated peacefully in the center of Paris? If you didn’t, it’s not surprising. Even in France, th…