December 19, 1946 – July 21,1954

Indochina War

Conducted by France against the Viet Minh forces to keep colonial control over French Indochina.

- France’s enemy suffered 300,000 killed, 400,000 wounded, and 100,000 captured.

- 150,000 civilians died.

- The French extensively used "scorched earth" tactics, resorted to terrorising the population, torture, public executions, and rape.

- On November 23, 1946, during the shelling of the Vietnamese city of Haiphong by the French fleet, 6,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed.

- On November 29, 1947, French troops burned down the village of My Trach in central Vietnam. They forced the surviving civilians to gather near a bridge outside the village and opened fire with a machine gun, resulting in 310 deaths, including 157 children. The massacre was accompanied by widespread instances of rape. In the spring of 1948, a similar scenario unfolded in the village of My Thuy, resulting in 526 deaths. On February 20, 1951, the village of Cat Bay saw 178 fatalities under similar circumstances.

1. “Linternaute.com”, Guerre d'Indochine : résumé, dates, causes, morts du conflit, Charlène Vince, Mis à jour le 28 Novembre 2022

2. As remembered by Paul Mus in “Temoignage chretien”, who served as a political adviser to the commander-in-chief of the French forces in Indochina, General Leclerc (Extended notes for Stein Tønnesson, Vietnam 1946: How the War Began, BerkeleyCA: University of California Press, 2010)

3. Journal «L“histoire», Indochine : la guerre de décolonisation la plus violente du XXe siècle? Christopher Goscha dans mensuel 499, daté septembre 2022

November 1, 1954 – March 19, 1962 

Algerian War 

The war was waged against the National Liberation Front to keep Algeria as part of France.

- According to various estimates, between 200,000 (according to General De Gaulle in 1960), 250,000 to 400,000 (according to French historians Guy Perville and Xavier Yacono), and up to one and a half million Algerians who fought for the independence of their country (as reported by the Algerian National Liberation Front) lost their lives.

- During their campaigns, the French deployed napalm in the form of “special canisters” (“bidons spéciaux”) against the enemy. Additionally, they extensively utilised torture, conducted kidnappings, and carried out extrajudicial killings. Notably, the murders of Algerian resistance members Maurice Audin and Ali Boumendjel in 1957 became infamous. The total number of such crimes, for which France has yet to acknowledge responsibility, could potentially number in the thousands*.

- Losses among Algerian civilians ranged from 55,000 to 250,000 people.

- Between two and three million Algerian civilians were displaced from their homes.

- Approximately two million people, constituting a quarter of the country’s population, were forcibly relocated by the French to special camps, where they endured extremely harsh conditions including unsanitary living conditions, diseases, hunger, and infant mortality rates as high as 50 percent.

- On February 8, 1958, the village of Sakiet Sidi Youssef in Tunisia was bombed. Over 70 people were killed, including 10 elementary school students, and 148 were injured.

1.* Historians Fabrice Riceputi and Malika Rahal are gathering evidence of such crimes through their collaborative project, 1000autres.org.

2. https://gwonline.unc.edu/node/11722

3. Newspaper La Presse de Tunisie; Il y a 65 ans, le paisible village frontalier de Sakiet Sidi Youssef bombardé; Par le Colonel Boubaker BENKRAIEM; Publié sur 09/02/2023;

February 10-25, 1958

Operation Ecouvillon in Western Sahara  

France launched the campaign under the pretext of protecting Mauritania, which was then part of French West Africa.

Conducted in collaboration with Francoist Spain against the Moroccan Army of Liberation, the operation enabled Spain to regain control over the territory of Spanish Sahara.

- The Moroccan Army of Liberation suffered losses amounting to 150 people.

- The exact number of civilian casualties remains unknown. The operation, accompanied by intense bombing from French aviation, resulted in the financial ruin and forced displacement of 40,000 local residents.

1. Newspaper Liberation, Les fantômes africains de Franco : la « guerra olvidada » & le Sahara occidental;

2. Le dossier du Sahara occidental; Attilio Gaudio; p. 40;

3. LA QUATRIEME COMMISSION ACHEVE SON DEBAT GENERAL SUR LES QUESTIONS DE DECOLONISATION; Communiqué de Presse CPSD/132; Speech by M. AHMED SNOUSSI (Maroc);

1959-1964

Military intervention in Cameroon, massacre of the Bamileke people

After World War I, Cameroon was under French rule. In 1955, France banned the activities of the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon party, which was founded in 1948 to advocate for the country’s independence, and suppressed the popular uprisings that occurred from 1955 onwards.

After gaining independence, Cameroon’s government signed the Agreement on Technical Military Assistance to the Armed Forces of Cameroon and the Convention on the Role and Status of the French Military Mission with France on November 13, 1960. This agreement provided legal grounds for France to continue suppressing the uprising until 1964.

- According to various estimates, between 60,000 and several hundred thousand people were killed.

- In 1960 alone, over 20,000 people were killed, predominantly from the Bamileke community (as estimated by General Max Briand, commander of the French forces in Cameroon).

- This was accompanied by targeted intimidation of the population, public executions, and torture.

1. Al Jazeera; Unspoken history: The last genocide of the 20th century; Julie Owono; 25 Jan 2012;

2. Journal Jacobin; The Forgotten Cameroon War; Thomas Deltombe;

July 19-23,1961

Bizerte crisis in Tunisia

Initiated by France during the escalation of the situation surrounding the French base in Bizerte.

- According to various estimates, between 600 and 5,000 civilians died.

- The hostilities forced many Tunisians to flee their homes.

1. Journal Jeune Afrique; Les Tunisiens récupèrent Bizerte; Ridha Kéfi; 13 octobre 2003;

2. BIZERTE (Tunisie); Maghreb Canada Express; Vol. III N° 10 (28ième mois) OCTOBRE 2005;

1968-1972

Operations Limousin and Bison in Chad against the Liberation Front of Chad

The Chadian government requested French intervention to suppress popular uprisings that were triggered by the declaration of the ruling Chadian Progressive Party as the sole political party. This move marginalised opponents of President François Tombalbaye, including Muslims. The unrest initially erupted following the arrest of three Muslim government representatives in September 1963.

In the summer of 1968, President François Tombalbaye requested assistance, but the initial short-term French intervention did not bring about significant improvement. Consequently, in March 1969, he made a renewed request, invoking the Defence Agreement of August 15, 1960, and the Agreement on Technical Military Assistance of May 19, 1964.

- The rebels suffered approximately 3,800 casualties.

- The number of civilian casualties remains unknown.

La France en guerre au Tchad (1969 — 1972). La victoire oubliée; Michel Goya;

February 1978 – May 1980

Operation Tacaud in Chad

France initiated the intervention to support the Chadian army in its conflict against the Liberation Front of Chad. 

During the battles for N’Djamena alone in February-March 1978, over 10,000 civilians lost their lives.

Outil militaire et politique africaine de la France depuis 1960 : tableau historiographique et perspectives de recherche; Relations internationales 2016/1 (n. 165), pages 3 à 22;

1979 – 1981

Operations Caban and Barracuda, interference in the domestic affairs of the Central African Republic

The foundation for France’s intervention could have been established through prior agreements with the Central African Republic (CAR):

1. The Quadrilateral Defence Agreement between France, CAR, DRC, and Chad signed on August 15, 1960.

2. The Agreement on Technical and Military Cooperation signed in 1966.

- During Operation Caban, Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa was deposed from power while he was visiting Libya. Following the occupation of Bangui airport and the capital by French special forces, the emperor’s adviser David Daco proclaimed a republic. In the new context, the operation aimed to protect French citizens, support the new authorities, and train the armed forces of the CAR (Operation Barracuda).

- The operation continued until 1981, when it was replaced by “operational assistance forces” (éléments d’assistance opérationnelle), which remained in the country until 1998.

- The exact number of civilian casualties remains unknown.

Operations in Chad

Operation Manta (August 1983 – November 1984)

The intervention was prompted by President Hissène Habré's repeated requests in the summer of 1983. He was losing control of the country in the face of a guerrilla movement backed by Libya and led by the former president, Goukouni Weddeye.

Initially, the French intended to provide only logistical support as stipulated by the military-technical cooperation and logistics agreements concluded with Chad in 1976. However, in August 1983, 4,000 soldiers were deployed to the country.

- The operations were conducted to support France’s ally, dictator Hissène Habré, who was accused of crimes against humanity and, according to various investigations, responsible for the deaths of between 1,200 and 40,000 people (Human Rights Watch); Enabling a Dictator. The United States and Chad’s Hissène Habré 1982-1990; June 28, 2016;)

- The exact number of civilian casualties remains unknown.

Operation Epervier (1986 – 2014)

According to the agreements reached in September 1984 between the leaders of Libya and France, both countries were required to withdraw their troops from Chadian territory. However, Libya left soldiers in northern Chad and subsequently launched a new offensive against Habré’s forces. In response, France initiated a new operation in the country.

 According to information on the official website of the French Ministry of Defence, this operation was carried out at the request of the Chadian government.

French airstrikes at the Libyan airbase of Ouadi Doum in Chad (February 16, 1986, January 7, 1987)

Operation Hawk aimed to safeguard the capital of N’Djamena from Libyan bomber attacks, as Ouadi Doum was their sole refuelling point en route to the city.

During the initial airstrike, the base’s runway was rendered inoperable, and in the subsequent attack, the installed radars were destroyed.

Hissène Habré informed the press that the raids were conducted in response to Chad’s request for military assistance from France.

1989

Operation Oside on the Comoro Islands

Initiated by France following the assassination of the country’s president, Ahmed Abdullah, and in response to its seizure of power by mercenaries under the command of the former presidential guard commander, Bob Denard.

The operation was launched at the request of the acting president of the country, Said Mohammed Johar, who had previously served as Chairman of the country’s Supreme Court. 

- Bob Denard accepted the demands of the French, forcing the mercenaries to depart the country. On March 11, 1990, Said Mohammed Johar was elected President.

- The exact number of civilian casualties remains unknown.