Le choc des décolonisations

Pierre Vermeren

In this study of the decolonization of former French territories, Pierre Vermeren protests against the simplistic and historically false view that sees colonization as belonging to the distant past. Instead, he argues that the Arab revolutions of 2011 and 2012 are the direct consequence of decolonization. Motivated both by good conscience and by culpability, France has allowed its successors at the head of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and the countries of Africa to act with total impunity. The silence and self-deception of France--and of Europe as a whole--have allowed the monopolization of wealth, the confiscation of liberties, and the subjugation of the peoples in these former colonies. Vermeren illuminates the most recent events, whether the explosions of anger in Maghreb or the struggle against jihadism, with the light of history.