| Paris Massacre Of 1961 |
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EVENTS On October 17 1961 , thousands of Algeria n immigrants living in Paris took to the streets in support of the National Liberation struggle being waged in Algeria against France by the FLN (Front Libération National - National Liberation Front). In response, the Paris Police Department violently broke up the demonstations, as well as took other severe actions related to the demonstrations. While the police originally claimed that only three deaths resulted from the conflict, historians estimate that between 32 and 200 demonstrators died. With almost no media coverage at the time, the events surrounding the massacre, as well as the death toll, were almost unknown both in France and worldwide for decades. For this reason, there is no generally-used name to designate these events. The Paris massacre of 1961 appears to have been intentional. Official documentation and eyewitnesses within the Paris police department suggest that the massacre was directed by its police chief, Maurice Papon , who was an official of French Vichy Government during World War II . Police records show that Papon called for officers in one station to be 'subversive' in quelling the demonstrations, and assured them protection from prosecution if they participated. Many demonstrators died when they were violently herded by police into the River Seine , with some thrown from bridges after being beaten unconscious. Other demonstrators were killed within the courtyard of the Paris police headquarters after being arrested and delivered there in police buses. Officers who participated in the courtyard killings took the precaution to remove identification numbers from their uniforms, while senior officers ignored pleas by other policemen who were shocked when witnessing the brutality. Silence regarding the events within the police headquarters was further enforced by threats of reprisals from participating officers. REPORTING Despite the extent of the massacre and publicity surrounding the event - anecdotes tell of piles of bodies in the street, as well bodies being found downriver for weeks afterwards - the paucity of objective press coverage at the time of the massacre was likely due to two factors: successful Censorship of the media by several levels of the French Government , and Biased Reporting by major media outlets in countries that were supportive of the French government's policy regarding Algeria. Some censorship was enforced by the Paris government due to concerns about responsibilities within the Paris police department for the massacre, while other censorship was enforced by the French National Government because of concerns about its deteriorating position in Algeria's War For Independence . Furthermore, coverage of the massacre by major British and American media sources, such as The Times , TIME magazine and The New York Times , downplayed the severity of the massacre as well as the Paris government's responsibility for the events Given the high number of victims, the decades-long silence on the massacre may be a reflection of the fragile state of Civil Rights and Justice when people and governments feel threatened by events beyond their control. On the other hand, it may be a reflection of the fact that the killings took place in the middle of a large scale and brutal war in which at least 380,000 died, and there is an endless number of atrocities, on both sides, that could be discussed. 5,000 died in the " Human rights issues were an important issue for French newspapers and the French electorate throughout the war. By the end of the war human rights were a more important issue than the preservation of French Algeria. Public support for French Algeria was low by the end of the war, in part as a response to the human rights question. Human rights issues were widely reported and bitterly debated, and while the Paris Massacre may not have been constantly discussed as a specific event, it certainly falls into the overall issue of human rights which was very extensively debated. RECENT EVENTS The French government acknowledged in 1998 that the massacre occurred and that 40 people died in the massacre. No-one has been prosecuted for participation in the killings, because they fell under the general amnesty for crimes committed during the Algerian War. This included on the one side French police and military personnel; and on the other side various French (pro-independence, often communist) and Algerian terrorists, for attacks on civilian targets such as cafes, which killed 3,000 civilians. Forty years after the massacre, in 2001, the event was officially acknowledged by the city of Paris with the placement and unveiling of a memorial plaque near the Saint Michel Bridge . This resulted from work by the French Socialist Party local government. At the unveiling of the plaque, Bertrand Delanoe , the Socialist Party Mayor Of Paris , cited the need for France to come to terms with this event in order to move forward with unity. Centrist and Right-wing French Politics , as well as the police union, objected to the plaque on various grounds (increased threat of civil unrest, toleration of terrorism, and encouragment of disrespect for the police). The massacre was prominently referenced in Caché , a 2005 film by Michael Haneke . SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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