1942: Free French High comissar in the Levant Catroux, torn between the various independence movements within the mandates, decides to carve a christian state within lebannon, as a last ditch attempt to safeguard future french control in the region against arab nationalists and british, he has support from large parts of the Marronite elite, Kataeb Phalangists para military units vastly support the creation of the new state, Émile Eddé, a less extreme supporter of this idea is put as president of the new state
1943: Outraged by the Free french plot, syrian elites decide to unilateraly declare independance, with any hope of a secular lebanon destroyed, the east and northern part of the country decide to break away, tensions are intense but british intervention prevent any large scale conflict between Syria and the Christian Lebannon
1944-1946: France retakes control of the Levantine administraiton, Syria is recognized as an independant state, the Transitional french government recognizes Lebannon's independance with a very close partnership, and agree to keep an occupying force in the Shia majority south lebanon and around tripoli to protect the country, Setif Massacre in Algeria kills over 20,000 algerians on May 8 1945
1947: As mandatory palestine falls to civil war and partition plans fail, France starts having secret talks with the Yishuv about the future of Palestine, Pro-French arab christian in Syria and greater lebannon start moving to the lebanese state, which is readying for a war, In algeria the new statute heralding reforms is largely neglected
1948: Britains pulls out of Palestine, start of the First Levantine war, Syria attacks Lebanon (and to a smaller extent palestine), the rest of the arab states invade Palestine, France helps the Lebanese army but doesn't venture out of its occupation zone in Tripoli and southern Lebanon, it still sees combat against Syrian units. Lebanon and Israel have to cooperate. The war is rather short, ending in 4 months with a near total Lebanese-Israeli victory, all of the land west of the Jordan and 40% of the Sinai is controlled by Israel, Southern lebanon is put under shared Lebanese-Israeli occupation, Lebanon establishes a 10 km buffer zone into Syria and establishes a coastal link to Tripoli, both put under Franco-Lebanese military occupation
1949: Large refugee crisis, most Muslim Palestinians and large part of Muslim Lebanese flee to Jordan and Syria respectively, remaining Jews across the middle east flee to Israel, large part of christians in syria, particularly in the western regions and in urban areas increasingly move to Lebanon, while a majority of arab christians haven't left, maronnite across the middle east are particularly targeted and virtually all flee to Lebanon. Most of the other m-east arab states cut off relations with France
1950s: French investment in Lebanon, and to a lesser extent Israel help the development of the countries and allevate the austerity period 1950: Large part of Moroccan and Tunisian Jews go to Algeria 1952: French Nuclear Program starts in collaboration with Israel, Lebanon and Morocco
1954: Algerian Revolutionary Comity is founded, November attacks in algeria, start of the algerian war, end of the Indochina war
1955: De Gaulle dies from a heart attack, Increasing refugee population in Lebannon make its leader decide to send some christians to France, many would end up in Algeria,
1955-1956, military coup in Syria, Large refugee population in Jordan lead to unstabilities Suez crisis, Nasser nationalises the canal, Israel invades the rest of the sinai with French and British support, American and Soviet pressure force Israel to back down
1958: French political crisis, unstabilities bring the 4th republic at death's door, the comity of the sevens take power and establish a junta in france with Salan at its head. The battle of Alger results in over 2,000 death in the city
1959: significant revolt in Southern Lebanon, over 1/5 of the Muslim population is evicted or leaves voluntarilly, French army gets increased funding in Algeria, French tests its first nuclear weapon in Algeria
1960: Ongoing skirmishes along the Israeli border reach a high, but recent french nuclear testing make the arab nation back down Pierre Gemayel takes power in Lebanon which essentially becomes a one party state
1961: As the Algerian war continues, the French Junta whose popularity is collapsing, decides to establish a plan for the partition of Algeria, this plan, devised by Alain Peyreffite, would be applied over the next 15 years. The country would be divided in 4, with a French part between Oran and Algiers with a panhandle leading to a Berber led puppet state in the Sahara, West and East Algeria would be separate Arab states that would be economically and diplomatically isolated, Algiers would be separated in two arab and french zones, there would be a slow population transfer in border areas to limit the arab population to less than 2 millions inside the french region's border while Pieds noirs in the constantine region would be slowly relocated to the western part. European integration between the European Six slow down as confidence in France collapse
1964: The Syrio-Egyptian United Arab States is dissolved, while Egypt soften its stance on its Coptic population Syria becomes harsher on the remaining eastern orthodox Christian, with a less independent policy Syria gets closer to the Soviet Union diplomatically
1965: Large protests across France for a democratisation, after a number were repressed by force, the realises the precarious state of their rule, and decide to establish a timetable for liberalisation, starting with partially free elections in 1968.
1966: Kabyle disaster, significant uprising in central coastal Algeria Ends with over 10,000 Algerian deaths, anti war sentiment in France is highest, but Settler populaiton in Algeria is more resolved to stay as ever as urban centers have become safer.
1968: Election in France result in the victory of the Military-sponsored Rassemblement pour la République. In Algeria the administrative division of put into action, The French Algerian assembly is given more autonomy, East Algeria is given an associated state situation, led by Mouloud Mammeri
1969: pieds noir Protests in Oran against the partition of Algeria, some of the protest is also aimed at the large recent immigration to Algeria: In addition to large numbers of Maronite and Levantine Christian, Portuguese came in large number as the junta gave incentives for the hundred of thousands of immigrants to go to Algeria. Sephardim population is also growing, with an increasingly large number from Israel, attracted by the higher wages and repulsed by the Ashkenazim economic influence in Israel, they integrate easily in the already large community In France, large protests by UNEF (students union) and Trade unions across major cities, at the same time protests of algerian workers get worse, dozens of french protesters are killed, hundreds of algerian protesters are
1970: return of Algerian Islamic philosopher Malik Bennabi in Algeria after decades spent in Egypt, after having seen the power of conservative catholic associations supportive of colonialism in mainland France and Algeria, he had decided to apply similar Islamic unifying factors among the independence movement, very popular, his death under mysterious circumstances in 1972 would only strength his ideology after independence, when the early FLN would carefully apply it before renouncing it later. Founding of the Organisation of Free Algeria, a christian pieds noir - settlers militia, they terrorize borders area and force many remaining Arab algerian to leave Central algeria
1971: Algerian Torture scandal, leaked document show that hundreds of thousands of Algerians were tortured over the last 20 years, and that chemical weapons stockpile were present in Algeria. In East Algeria, popular trust toward the collaborationist government is at its lowest, an alternate state led by the Algerian revolutionary comittee still controls large parts of the rural regions and mountains despite the french army's efforts, Large uprising in cisjordan that is brutally suppressed by Israel, pictures of dead children shock the world and Arab nations push for greater cooperation against Zionism
1972: Egypt and Syria form a military alliance once again
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1973: Following french presidential elections, the first that aren't rigged in over 15 years, Socialist Gaston Defferre wins, along with an overwhelming Socialist and Communist legislative result
Elected with hopes of restoring democracy, ending France’s Involvment abroad and cut back conscription, Defferre initially was rather cautious with leaving France’s ally in the Middle East and lleaving Algeria, But a thwarted coup attempt by the military a few months later would convince him to act quickly, by September 1973, he would announce France’s total withdrawal from Lebanon, west and east Algeria (along with the few remaining oversea colonies of Djibouti, Dakar and Gabon), the Arab states quickly took advantage and decided to attack Lebanon and Israel within weeks, Lebanon was quickly overran while many locals and refugee hastily tried to leave - many going to Israel, Italy, France and french Algeria, the sudden loss of French support also allowed Egypt, Syria and Jordan to take Israel by surprise in some of its weak point, suez was quickly crossed, with the Egyptian army reaching the Negev before being stopped, while south Lebanon, golan heights and part of cisjordan were invaded, Faced with the risk of a breakthrough into the Sharon plain, the Israeli decided to disclose their nuclear arsenal officially, doing fake bomb tossing against the Aswan dam and rolling out its IRBMs, this would make the great power pressure the Arab states into stopping their offensive and bring them to a peace table with the Israeli, this would be the start of a nearly 10 years long painful peace process
Algeria would be as messy, the same day As the french army’s retreat from east Algeria, Mammeri would be assassinated and replaced as head of state in east Algeria by the popular Krim Belkacem, he would immediately declare the founding of the Algerian Democratic Republic and cut ties with France. In west Algeria, the local government would similarly be overthrown by Larbi Ben M'hidi, In the days after skirmishes along the border of the remaining french Algeria, the illegality of the coups in the two independent Algeria and rising urban violence in french Algeria would prompt the army, now repatriated to central Algeria to intervene, But ambiguous orders from Paris and dispair among the metropolitan army in Algeria st the sight of a renewal of hostilities created a split within the local french armed forces, the following inaction prompted a heterogeneous group of extremist pieds noirs, loyalist generals and recent Lebanese Maronite migrant who had felt betrayed by France to declare an unilateral Declaration of Independence, the Algerian settler population was very divided toward it, many thinking France would refuse it, but for unsure reasons, some say the general french apathy toward the pieds noir after 20 years of war, opposition to any war, or the socialist party realisation that leaving now-conservative Algeria (something it wasn’t always) to its own demise would improve the party’s chances. Defferre accepted the Declaration of Independence, this shocked the world as the fate of Algeria was now completely unknown, and this swayed over most of the settler Algerian who were pro french, seeing how the metropole has abandonned them.
Immediately the Algerian war took a larger scale, widespread conscription was enabled among the settler population and the remaining army deployed, the first and most important fighting would be in Alger, the city had been divided by the partition but had now become a war zone, Settler armies quickly gained the upper hand, retaking the whole city and forcing hundreds of thousands of Arabs to leave, this would be a hotly debated moment in he history of the Algerian countries later, as it was when who was harki and who wasn’t became clear. they then continued east, into western Kabylia, the place had been an insurgency stronghold, and the settler army took the coastal mountains after fierce battles, while committing atrocities, killing thousands of civilians and forcing over a hundred thousand to leave at gunpoint. Similar fighting occurred along the south eastern border of former french Algeria, the stakes were high as cutting the panhandle to the recently independent - and french loyal - Sahara would deprive central Algeria of a precious source of income in the pipeline and export of oil and minerals and give the Algerian republic a strategic advantage.
There Formerly french armoured vehicles easily defeated the few old soviet equipment of Algeria and many technicals. Nevertheless on most of the border the Algerian republic resisted decently against the settlers, preventing them from going too deep in their land, that cannot be said of west Algeria, Settler forced easily took Tlemcen, invaded the hinterland until the Moroccan border and killed Ben M’hidi, nevertheless the local branch of the revolutionary comitee , headed by Ben M’hidi successor Benallal Hadj Ould Omar would wage a guerilla war until The end of the occupation later this decade.
After 5 weeks, and with central Algeria now in an advantageous position although having suffered some setback which were effectively used by the Algerian republic as propaganda , and with increasing international pressure for peace, both parties agreed to a ceasefire, negotiations went almost nowhere however, refugees were not allowed to come back and no reparation were made.
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The following years would be important for both countries, in Algeria the country would balance itself between socialism, politician Islamism, pan Arabism orientation and third worldism, initially in the 70s, riding the wave of panarabism following israel's "defeat", the country cut most economic ties to france it had before. Algeria had the difficult task of handling a few millions refugees,which created tensions particularly as Kabyls were the most affected, yet also kabylia was a main destination for algiers refugees, while Belkacem had put good basis for the handling of such tension, his sudden death in 1974 and his replacement by Mohamed Boudiaf would undo it, he balanced Panarabism and Islamism, creating a politically influencial algeria among MENA in the 70s but neglected and culturally suppressed the particularly large berber (Kabyl and Chaoui) population of east algeria, this would eventually lead to the Berber summer of 1984 and the following low level insurgency in Algeria, its lowest point after independence and until its liberalization
On the first anniversary of the independence of French algeria, it pompously renamed itself to Altava, in reference to the 7th century christian (and ironically, berber) kingdom which led a fierce resistance against the Umayyads, this name change underlying the difference with the "former" muslim algeria was met incredulously in most of the world, and many people still refer to it as "francophone algeria", after independence its main goal was to gain widespread recognition and recreate former trade links with most of mediterranean europe After leaving West algeria in 1976, Altava attempted to get nuclear weapons, a leak in the early 80s revealed it to the world, and Altava was asked to stop it, in secret, France broadly assured weapons sales and protection in case of another war (which never came),furthermore Altava was accepted into NATO in 1988 (a tough sell, but Altava argued it would just take the place of french algeria, which was covered under NATO)
Another policy goal was to keep good relations with the tuareg led government of Sahara, to ensure the continued use of existing pipelines for gas and oil export
But, cynically, one of the most important goal of Altava immediately after independence was to shrink the demographic gap between it and the Algerian Republic, it immediately gave citizenship to any catholic/maronnite in the middle east, and many of the remaining came, it also aimed at latin american immigration, the higher pays attracted many Brazilian and argentinean, who many had Lebanese or 19th century spanish ancestry. Altava also decided to bring the families of portuguese migrants who had stayed after the end of the dictatorship in portugal, along with proposing immigration to every retornados who had fled from portuguese africa. A surprising group would be Sephardim, the new state, despite being officialy christian, knew that jewish algerians were on their side and allowed them to keep their spot in the economic and political landscape, many who had been living in continental europe came, and even some from Israel as many didn't feel as secure, particularly since the post 1973 israel had been less democratic, more militarized, and, from a sephardim point of view, still too Ashkenazim led. Various european migrants also came in some number, along with middle eastern christians who could apply. Integrating all these groups was a hard task, and even today there are still lots of fracture, the education system crumbled as many of these migrants were underskilled, and while still much wealthier than their former homeland, Altava by 1990 was worse off compared to France than french algeria was before independence. But the common feeling of a new homeland, the foreign pressure, the fact that many couldn't come back to their country or didn't want, means that most had to learn to live together. The greats losers are of course the muslim Arabs living, formerly or not, in Altava, those who stayed, mostly urban inhabitants outside of algiers and in middle towns, or rural peasants away from the border areas,
they were mainly ignored and discriminated against for a good 15 years, eventually as tensions were rising, efforts were made to "integrate" them, they gained access to the same welfare state as everyone else, but unemployment among them was still high since hundreds of thousands of migrants came and took low skilled jobs, many muslim arabs just moved to Algeria in the years after, and even today most live together in relatively isolated hinterland cities, nevertheless they have the right to vote, and given their electoral unity, and considering the diversity of Altavan politics owing to its own diversity, the Arab interest parties, taken together, often reach 3 place in various elections (however their tenuous relations with Christian socialist parties often doesn't lead to any coalition between them)
