SSStttooonnnyyy BBBrrrooooookkk UUUnnniiivvveeerrrsssiiitttyyy The official electronic file of this thesis or dissertation is maintained by the University Libraries on behalf of The Graduate School at Stony Brook University. ©©© AAAllllll RRRiiiggghhhtttsss RRReeessseeerrrvvveeeddd bbbyyy AAAuuuttthhhooorrr... Welfare and Warfare: Social Action for Algerian Migrants in Metropolitan France during the Algerian War A Dissertation Presented by Elizabeth Caitlin Sloan to The Graduate School in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Stony Brook University May 2012 Copyright by Elizabeth Caitlin Sloan 2012 Stony Brook University The Graduate School Elizabeth Caitlin Sloan We, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. Herman Lebovics – Dissertation Advisor Professor of History Kathleen Wilson - Chairperson of Defense Professor of History Eric Beverley Assistant Professor of History Clifford Rosenberg Assistant Professor of History, City College of New York This dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School Charles Taber Interim Dean of the Graduate School\ ii Abstract of the Dissertation Welfare and Warfare: Social Action for Algerian Migrants in Metropolitan France during the Algerian War by Elizabeth Caitlin Sloan Doctor of Philosophy in History Stony Brook University 2012 This dissertation is a study of welfare services provided to Algerian migrants in France from the end of World War II through the Algerian War. The brutal war ending in Algerian independence in 1962 fell in the midst of thirty years of French industrialization fueled by the arrival of thousands of Algerian workers. It also followed over a century of definition and redefinition by the French state of what it meant that Algeria and France formed a single nation. In this period, Algerians’ perceived cultural difference was the object of serious concern to state policy makers and local associations alike, concern rooted in assumptions that Algerians’ capacity for assimilation was hindered by their presumably un-modern, Muslim lifestyle, as well as in fears that the Algerian National Liberation Front was gaining ground in the metropole. This dissertation argues that the realm of welfare became a second front during the Algerian War, in which social services became a wartime tactic and the stakes were the future of Algérie française and the validity of republican colorblindness. iii For my parents iv Table of Contents Abstract of the Dissertation iii Dedication Page iv List of Abbreviations vii Acknowledgements viii Curriculum Vitae x INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1 32 The Fourth Republic Confronts Algerian Migration (1946-56) Conceptualizing Algerian Difference after World War II 36 “A Massive Influx” 39 Algerian Workers on Strike 42 State Social Action 48 Calling on the Associations 56 ‘The Events in Algeria’ and Cautious Optimism 69 Conclusion 76 CHAPTER 2 78 Fighting Poverty, Fighting Algerian Nationalism at the Transition to the Fifth Republic (1957-59) Crisis in Algeria 81 The FLN Arrives in the Metropole 83 The Muslim Affairs and Social Action Service (SAMAS): 85 Social Action as Counterterrorism The Collection and Distribution of Information (the CTAM) 97 Radio and Print Propaganda 100 The SAT-FMA: Policing under the Guise of Social Action 108 The Return of de Gaulle 114 The Fonds d’action sociale: Social Action without Repression 118 Michel Massenet and the 1959 Social Action Plan: Drafting a Unified Policy 122 Linkages and Tensions 136 Conclusion 142 v CHAPTER 3 144 Private Associations and the Politics of Social Action Associations in the Fifth Republic’s Social Action Plan 145 Gaullists 149 Religious Organizations 153 Associations’ Political Activities and Tensions with the French Government 156 The ‘Cultural Level’ of Families in the bidonvilles 161 Youth on the Streets 169 Algerian Women and Girls 177 Colonies de vacances 179 Persistent Poverty and Isolation 184 Conclusion 186 CHAPTER 4 188 Social Action and the Paris Police (1960-62) The Fight against the French Federation Continues as Independence Approaches 189 The Force de Police Auxiliaire (FPA) 191 Poverty and the Police in the Parisian bidonvilles 195 Police Violence and the Lead-up to October 17, 1961 201 Michel Massenet’s Resistance to Police Brutality 208 Local Resistance 216 Conclusion 221 EPILOGUE 223 BIBLIOGRAPHY 238 vi List of Abbreviations AMANA: Aide morale aux Nord-africains ANARF: Amicale des Nord-Africains Résidant en France BRS: Bureaus de renseignements specialisés CAC: Centre des Archives Contemporaines CANAM: Commission d’Aide aux Nord-Africains dans la Métropole CARAN: Centre d'accueil et de recherche des Archives nationales CIMADE: Comité inter-mouvements auprès des évacués CIV: Centre d’identification de Vincennes CSMONA: Contrôleurs sociaux de la main-d’œuvre nord-africaine CTAM: Conseillers techniques aux Affaires musulmanes FAS: Fonds d’action sociale FLN: Front de libération nationale FMA: Français musulmans d’Algérie FPA: Force de Police Auxiliaire (harkis) GEANARP: Groupe d’Etude et d’Action pour les Nord-Africains de la region parisienne JCLT: Jeunesse, Culture, Loisirs, et Technique HLM: Habitation à loyer modérée IGAME: Inspecteur général de l’Administration en mission extraordinaire MNA: Mouvement national algérien MTLD: Mouvement pour le triomphe des libertés démocratiques NF: Nouveaux francs OAA: Office administrative de l’Algérie OAS : Organisation armée secrète PPA: Parti du peuple algérien PCF: Pari communiste français RTF: Radiodiffusion-télévision française SAC: Service d’action civique SAMAS: Service des affaires musulmanes et de l’action sociale SAS: Section administrative spécialisée SAT-FMA: Service d’assistance technique aux Français musulmans d’Algérie SAU: Section administrative urbaine SCAA: Service de coordination des affaires algériennes SCINA: Service de coordination des informations nord-africaines SGAA: Secrétariat général pour les affaires algériennes SLSNA: Service des liaisons sociales nord-africains SONACOTRAL: Société national de construction de logements pour les travailleurs algériens et leurs familles SSFNA: Service social familial nord-africain vii Acknowledgements While much of the work that goes into writing a dissertation is done alone at a computer screen, this project was far from a solitary endeavor. Thanks are therefore due, first and foremost, to my advisor, Gene Lebovics, who first encouraged me to critically examine French republican values. His guidance, constructive criticism, and numerous reassurances were essential to my seeing this dissertation through to completion. Eric Beverley provided wise advice at various stages of the writing process and helped me see the big picture in which my project fits. Cliff Rosenberg generously offered his time and expertise on the topic of immigration control and I am grateful to have had him on my committee. Kathleen Wilson elucidated the theoretical currents that ultimately underpinned my research project and has provided indispensable support throughout my years as a graduate student. Thanks are also due to Paul Gootenberg, who taught me to ask productive research questions when my work was in its earliest stages. Courses with Brooke Larson, Alice Ritscherle, Olufemi Vaughan, Young-Sun Hong, Alix Cooper, Sara Lipton, and John Williams sharpened my skills as a historian and pushed me to examine issues of race, inequality, and national belonging beyond the geographic and temporal confines of modern Europe. I am also indebted to Lynn Struve, Stephen Andrews, Carl Ipsen, Wendy Gamber, and Jim Madison for fostering my interest in history as an undergraduate at Indiana University. Nancy Green offered academic guidance as well as needed reassurance during my first weeks in Paris. Kristen Stromberg Childers read my research proposal and offered sage advice. Conversations with Emmanuel Blanchard, Amelia Lyons, Elisa Camiscioli, Angéline Escafré- Dublet, Lizabeth Zack, Amit Prakash, Héloïse Finch-Boyer, Pete Soppelsa, and Jaime Wadowiec were likewise invaluable to this project. I am also grateful for the help I received from archivists and librarians at the Centre des archives contemporaines, the Centre d’accueil et de recherche des Archives nationales, the Cité nationale de l’histoire de l’immigration, and the Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library at Stony Brook. I was lucky to be chosen to participate in the Trans-Atlantic Summer Institute at the Center for German and European Studies at the University of Minnesota during the final stages of writing and editing. Seminar leaders Patricia Lorcin and Abderrahman Moussaoui generously read and commented on portions of the dissertation. Thanks also to fellow TASI participants Marie-Thérèse Atséna Abogo, Sabina Bellofatto, Sarah Boardman, Jennifer Croft, Jérome Drevôn, Jane Freeland, Sara Marzioli, Hugh McDonnell, Terry Peterson, Mircea Platon, Fabien Sacriste, Charlotta Salmi, Brian Shaev, Andrew Shield, Sebastian Sparwasser, Evgeniy Sterin, Ebru Sungun, Helin Ucar, and Hanene Zoghlami, whose wide-reaching expertise made for many fruitful discussions and gave me fresh insight into the issues my research addresses. viii Thanks to Christóbal Zuniga-Espinoza, Marisa Balsamo, Justin Williams, Hee-Jeong Sohn, Rika Michalos, Andrés Estefane-Jaramillo, Kelly Condit-Shrestha, Mark Rice, Adam Charboneau, Matt Scalena, Christina Bosco Langert, Sung Yup Kim, Soraya Baselious, Seth Offenbach, Greg Jackson, Ryan Shaffer,