17 octobre 1961 - Episode 1 : Les faits

As part of the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of October 17, 1961, we present an interview with Emmanuel Blanchard (historian) and Mogniss H. Abdallah (journalist and filmmaker). Divided into three parts, which can be viewed independently or consecutively, this interview attempts to provide an overview of current knowledge about this event from a French perspective. Episode 1: The Facts This first part revisits the demonstration itself. Interviewed by Mogniss Abdallah, Emmanuel Blanchard recounts the context of the time: the violence of the final months of the Algerian War and the police pressure on Algerians living in metropolitan France. They also discuss the motivations of the French Federation of the National Liberation Front (FLN), which initiated the call to demonstrate, a demonstration that was initially intended to be a large, peaceful protest. They then describe the Paris police prefecture's "response": Maurice Papon launched a massive roundup (12,000 people arrested in a few hours), resulting in numerous deaths, and organized a large number of deportations, making October 17th the deadliest crackdown in Western Europe after World War II. Directed by: Anne Volery Cinematography: Joy Banerjee, Anne Volery