A French channel withdraws documentary on the use of chemical weapons in Algeria

A French channel withdrew a documentary on the French occupation forces’ use of toxic gases and chemical weapons during the Algerian liberation war, after it was programmed to broadcast, due to what is believed to be political pressure in the midst of a sharp diplomatic crisis between Algeria and Paris on historical files and political issues.

The French newspaper Liberation revealed, on Wednesday, that the management of the France 5 channel decided to withdraw a documentary entitled “Algeria … the private weapons family”, which was scheduled to be broadcast on March 16, justifying this with changes related to keeping pace with the events, as it will instead display a program on the Ukrainian war. The channel was satisfied with broadcasting the documentary and making it available to the public exclusively on its website.

The Swiss television broadcast last Monday, the documentary that Claire Bayeh, and reveals horrific facts about France’s use of chemical weapons during the Algerian revolution, and its use in nearly 10,000 operations to pursue the revolutionaries, especially in the caves and caves that they resorted to isolated civilians to escape the bombing of French aircraft.

Documentary, for 52 minutes, displays certificates and archives personally to a number of French soldiers who participated in operations against the Algerian revolutionaries, as well as testimonies of Algerian civilians and revolutionaries who lived or were victims of gas bombing and chemical weapons, and the work is based in particular on military and secret documents and research by historian Christophe Lavay.

It is likely that the channel’s decision not to present the documentary is related to the acute crisis in the relations between Algeria and France for a while, in light of a French fear that broadcasting this work will lead to more Algerian demands for Paris that it should be recognized by its crimes during the colonial era.