Algerian Independence

The failure of political negotiations with the French led to the Algerian War of Independence in 1954, a brutal, eight-year conflict that was characterized by massacres, terrorism, and torture. The war was long and brutal, until March 1962, when the French government accepted a cease-fire, and in July 1962 the Algerian people voted for independence. Within months, 1.4 million Europeans left Algeria. Although there was peace, France was still a thorn in Algerias side. The Algerian people needed a governmental face to fight for them, so The National Liberation Front (FLN) spearheaded the armed struggle against France and became the dominant political party.