Sand War: The Cold War in North Africa
In 1963 a border dispute between Morocco and Algeria escalated into the Sand War. What began as an ideological difference between two newly independent nations soon became personal.
Martin Evans
Turning Point: the End of the French Empire
Eighty years ago, the Atlantic Charter set out the terms for the decolonisation of French North Africa.
‘Can’t Tek No More’
Franco Rosso’s film Babylon presented the lives of Black Londoners in a way few had done before.
The Rights of France
Since the late 19th century, French politics has provided a testing ground for right-wing populism.
Britain’s First Youthquake
Teenagers were agents of change in 1960s Britain, but the birth of youth movements such as the Mods was heavily indebted to the multicultural society from which they grew.
‘The French Resistance’ by Olivier Wieviorka review
From de Gaulle’s call to arms against Vichy France to Liberation four years later, we review The French Resistance by Olivier Wieviorka.
What is French secularism?
Although it once represented the victory of anti-clerical republicanism, laïcité has come to mean something very different.
The Ben Barka Affair
After the kidnapping of Moroccan revolutionary Mehdi Ben Barka in 1965, the fingers of blame pointed in several directions. The details of what happened are still not known.
Resistance and the Making of the Modern World
As a historical concept, resistance has been largely ignored by academics.
Camus: Out of North Africa
On the centenary of his birth, Martin Evans looks at the evolving legacy of the Algerian-born French writer Albert Camus