Celebrating the centenary of the French colonization of Algeria 1830-1930
1- Introduction:
The controversial tone of the occupation centenary festivities did not begin in 1930, but rather predates this year. The French administration adopted a number of aggressive steps against Algerians throughout the 1920s, such as transferring Governor-General Violet to the pro-Colon ruler Bordes in 1927, and he is noted for his part in defeating the Aures uprising in 1916. The same year, a statue of General Lamorcier honored the role of the occupation's earliest commanders. All these works were concluded with the festivities of the occupation's centennial.
2- Celebration Program
The French government planned ahead of time for the celebrations, with the Governor-General, Pierre Bordes, entrusted to oversee the preparations, for which a massive expenditure of 130 million francs was set aside. The celebrations comprised extensive activities represented by displays of photographs depicting the history of the French military campaign as well as photographs of the generals and troops who led the numerous operations in the 19th century. The organization of massive military parades in cities to demonstrate France's colonial dominance and terrify Algerians. Another component of the celebration is lectures and speeches given in several Algerian cities to remind people of the previous military involvement in Algeria's occupation and to underline France's strong wish to remain in Algeria. Among the manifestations are the launching of new facilities and the naming of them after military figures, as well as appraisals of how the French army entered the year 1830.
The manifestations included the Academy of Algiers' publishing of books and chronicles for readers interested in the history of French Algeria. The works were released under the title "The Centenary Celebration Group," and in general, France tried everything it could to demonstrate its successes in colonized Algeria on the one hand, while stirring up Algerian sentiments on the other. As a result, national parties took a condemning stance toward pro-colonial families that participated in these festivities.
3 - Algerians’ stance
It is only obvious that Algerians reject such French provocations. Politicians described what happened as “the 1930 masquerade”, as the following saying spread among the patriots: “They - the French - celebrate the first century, but they will not celebrate the second.”
The The Étoile Nord-Africaine conducted counter-political activities against these festivities and release a declaration in Arabic and French in 1928, where they condemned all preparations preceding the celebrations, titled “Fighting against French Imperialism”
The party release a statement in the Ikdam newspaper in summer 1928 wherein they called Algerians to celebrate in their own way. “Get ready to celebrate your country's occupation in your own unique way by building a broad anti-imperialist movement.” Even Algerian parties formed after 1930, such as the Algerian Muslim Scholars Association and the Algerian Communist Party, condemned the occupation’s centennial festivities. As for Algerians living in Europe, they rejected and criticized these festivities in the same manner. A big meeting was arranged in Berlin under the leadership of the "Arab Maghreb Committee," and a declaration criticizing the French celebration was released under the title: "A century of servitude of Algerian Muslims under French persecution.” With their aforementioned festivities, the French thus inflicted a deep wound in the Algerians' memories.