"De Gaulle to the gallows!" shouted the European mobs in Oran and Algiers to whom he had once been hero. They had been powerful enough in 1956 to rout Premier Guy Mollet with a barrage of tomatoes and dangerous enough in 1958 to bring down the Fourth Republic. Now they threatened death or disfiguration if President Charles de Gaulle dared to set foot in Algeria.
Indomitable, Charles de Gaulle boarded a Caravelle jet plane at Orly airport and flew to Algeria. Arriving in a driving rain, his first stop on a six-day tour was in Ai'n Temouchent, a market town near Oran, where 9,000 Moslems and 8,000 angry Europeans jammed the main square. Some Moslems, on order of their employers, held up banners reading "Algeria null but it was the Europeans who did most of the shouting. A valiant half-dozen Moslems suddenly raised a sign inscribed "Vive De Gaulle!" It was torn from their hands three times while the police looked on.
Piercing Whistle. The rain-drenched crowd chanted a rhythmic "Algerie Franqaise" and accompanied the refrain with piercing three-short and two-long whistles. Ignoring the clamor, De Gaulle climbed from his car, waved cordially, and entered the town hall to address local dignitaries. When he emerged, the square reverberated with caterwauling shouts and whistles. De Gaulle ambled in his camel gait straight into the crowd at the point where the shouting was loudest. Startled Europeans fell back. Some were so nonplused that they paused in mid-scream to shake his hand.
Tall and solemn, De Gaulle marched on until he reached the mass of apathetic Moslems, who might boycott De Gaulle's projected referendum or be coerced into voting no. His presence set them wild with delight. Moslem men roared "Vive De Gaulle!" Moslem women tried to kiss his hand. A small Moslem boy gave De Gaulle everything he had—his sodden luncheon sandwich. For nearly a quarter of an hour, De Gaulle was literally lost in a sea of grinning, cheering faces. To make sure no harm could come to him, the Moslems formed a compact mass and escorted De Gaulle back to his car, where his bodyguards were waiting, pale with apprehension. Said a tough French general: "It was one of the most moving things I have ever seen."
Your Algeria. The tumultuous weather followed De Gaulle on his helicopter flight across western Algeria to the ancient Moslem city of Tlemcen, as recently as last year a fanatic stronghold of the F.L.N. rebels. Landing in a hailstorm, De Gaulle received a wildly enthusiastic reception from the city's overwhelmingly Moslem population.
Speaking to a group of Moslem municipal councilors and mayors, De Gaulle said, "I am glad to be in your great country," and went on: "Your future is in your hands. Algeria is yours, all of you without exception. Since the Moslem community is by far the most numerous, I say it is up to you to show your sense of responsibility, your worth, your importance. In truth, it is a new life which Algeria is about to begin in liberty, equality and fraternity."