Back to the Fight

The hope of peace in Algeria, which seemed a possibility in January, has vanished now. The somber message that Charles de Gaulle delivered to army units in Algeria (TIME, March 14) might have cheered some European settlers in Algeria, but it pleased hardly anyone else. Despite all the later "clarifications" from embarrassed French spokesmen in Paris, De Gaulle seemed convinced that independence for the Algerians was out of the question, and a "military solution" against the F.L.N. rebels was the only answer, since they had spurned his "peace of the brave."

Last week it was the rebels' turn to express despair and disillusion. They disclosed that they had sent a secret message to De Gaulle last month offering to send emissaries to Paris for discussions with no strings attached, and had been snubbed. Said Rebel "Premier" Ferhat Abbas angrily: "The head of the French state has closed the door to negotiation and to peace. He has emptied the self-determination offer of its substance and is trying to make the myth of military victory come alive again."

Renewed hard fighting seemed to be the next step. The French have stopped issuing accurate regular reports of military activity, but rebel bombs have been exploding in Algerian towns. On the main highway out of Algiers, four Frenchmen were kidnaped last week, and four more were mowed down in an ambush in the center of Affreville, just 44 miles from the capital. Reshuffling the top command, the F.L.N. installed a tough, 28-year-old guerrilla with the nom de guerre of Houari Boumedienne as rebel army chief of staff.

On both sides, men tired of an ugly war despaired of the possibility of negotiations until the latest extreme statements from both sides have a chance to wear off. Each side had tragically misjudged the other's hesitations as a sign of weakness. Now, with increased bitterness, they returned to fighting that neither side is capable of ending victoriously.

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