The Algerian War and Belgium:

Decolonization and the Civil Society

Abstract

  Belgium consistently supported the NATO alliance and France during the Algerian War in 1954–1962. This study sheds light on conflicts and frictions related to two issues that underlie the friendly Franco–Belgian governmental relations. The first is the French Foreign Legion, which recruited Belgian youth, typically aged less than 21 years. A few of their parents launched a movement to liberate and return them home. Thus, the Belgian Foreign Ministry was forced to start a delicate negotiation with its French counterpart to satisfy the public opinion. The second is the transnational expansion of Algerian nationalism into Belgium. In the face of the French request to suppress Algerian nationalists, the Belgian government found difficulty in steering between a Francophile diplomacy and traditional tolerance for foreigners in the territory. Simultaneously, some Belgian citizens, who were critical of their Francophile government, and sympathetic to the independence of Algeria, called for a cease-fire in Algeria. These transnational movements, internal and external to Belgium, encouraged the internationalization of Algerian nationalism and led Belgian diplomacy toward a difficult path.