French forces crack down in a violent clash with protesters in French Algeria during a visit by French President Charles de Gaulle.
French Algeria (French: Alger to 1839, then Algérie afterwards; unofficially Algérie française, Arabic: الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the invasion of Algiers and lasted until the end of the Algerian War of Independence in 1962. While the administration of Algeria changed significantly over the 132 years of French rule, the Mediterranean coastal region of Algeria, housing the vast majority of its population, was ruled as an integral part of France from 1848 until its independence.
As one of France's longest-held overseas territories, Algeria became a destination for hundreds of thousands of European immigrants known as colons, and later as pieds-noirs. However, the indigenous Muslim population remained the majority of the territory's population throughout its history. Gradually, dissatisfaction among the Muslim population due to their lack of political and economic freedom fueled calls for greater political autonomy, and eventually independence from France. Tensions between the two groups came to a head in 1954, when the first violent events began of what was later called the Algerian War, characterised by guerrilla warfare and crimes against humanity used by the French in order to stop the revolt. The war ended in 1962, when Algeria gained independence following the Evian agreements in March 1962 and the self-determination referendum in July 1962.
During its last years of being a French colony, Algeria was an integral part of France, a founding member of the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community.