Evian, Independence and the Exodus of 1962

After secret talks, France and the FLN's provisional government signed the Evian Accords on 18 March 1962, and a ceasefire began the next day. Voters in France approved the agreement in April, and in Algeria a referendum on 1 July produced an overwhelming vote for independence, declared on 5 July 1962. The end of the war brought fresh suffering. The OAS waged a campaign of bombings and killings to sabotage the agreement. Around 800,000 pieds-noirs left for France in 1962, many with little more than suitcases.

Harkis, Algerians who had served with the French army, faced reprisals; tens of thousands were killed, while France at first restricted their evacuation and housed many who reached France in isolated camps. In 2021 President Macron asked harkis for forgiveness. Independent Algeria, led first by Ahmed Ben Bella, faced the task of rebuilding after eight years of war. The war's memory remains sensitive in both countries.