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Evolution in Morocco
The example of Tunisia will have repercussions in the rest of North Africa, especially Morocco. At the present moment, Franco-Moroccan discussions have been interrupted by the dynastic question. The replacement of the old Sultan, who was both a civil and religious leader, has offended an important section of Moroccan opinion which has never recognized the new Sultan. The terrorism which has been launched against Frenchmen and against Moroccans who are reputedly pro-French, and the counter-terrorism which has struck down Moroccans as well as Frenchmen who are reputedly favorable to certain reforms, have created a tragic situation. Reasonable opinion in France does not misunderstand the dangers of this breakdown, but it remains convinced, and rightly, it seems to me, that a chance still remains for a Moroccan evolution akin to the Tunisian evolution.
When the French arrived in Tunisia at the end of the 19th century, and in Morocco at the beginning of the 20th, neither the Bey of Tunis nor the Sultan of Morocco exercised effective authority over the whole of his kingdom. Their authority ceased some distance from the cities. The colonial power has revived, rebuilt, reinforced the authority of the Tunisian and Moroccan state. These states are today made of bits and pieces, of traditional elements and of Western institutions brought by the French. Tomorrow, Tunisians and Moroccans can be the heirs of a state which the French have brought to life.
Changes in Algeria
Another more difficult situation exists in Algeria, where there is no Algerian state (as there was barely a trace of one, more than a century ago, when the French arrived). Algeria is composed of French departments, in many ways assimilated into those of continental France. For a long time there was a school of French opinion which favored assimilation pure and simple. One scarcely thinks this to be possible today. The Islamic religion is too big a barrier between Algerians and Frenchmen, the standard of living is too unequal on either side of the Mediterranean, the cost of investments which would be needed to raise Algeria to the level of the home country is too much beyond the means of France. To obtain results comparable to what has been achieved in Tunisia, some beginning will have to be made toward the creation of a Franco-Algerian state, linked to France.
Tne American "Intervention"
These are the facts, these are the ideas, which I think the majority of French opinion holds. I have omitted an important factor: the propaganda coming from Arab countries, and the organization, encouraged and subsidized by them, which aims at creating and extending a zone of guerrilla warfare. In Algeria the guerrilla warfare in the Aures Mountains and the terrorism in Constantine have local causes, but they would not spread without outside help. These deplorable events encourage the worst partisans on both sides, those who accept no change and those who rely on violence. Hit-and-run warfare paves the way, not for "liberation" but for chaos.