France recognized Algeria's independence
On this day · 3 July 1962
On 3 July 1962, after a brutal eight-year war and a near-unanimous referendum, France formally let go of Algeria.
On 3 July 1962, French President Charles de Gaulle formally recognized Algeria as an independent state, closing 132 years of French rule that had begun with the seizure of Algiers in 1830.
The recognition followed a referendum two days earlier: on 1 July 1962, Algerians went to the polls and voted overwhelmingly — by around 91.5% — for independence. The United States recognized the new nation the same day de Gaulle did, when President John F. Kennedy sent a congratulatory message to the Algerian people.
The break came at enormous cost. The Algerian War, launched by the National Liberation Front in 1954, had ground on for nearly eight years and left hundreds of thousands dead. Algeria’s provisional government chose 5 July — the anniversary of the 1830 French landing — as its official Independence Day, turning the date of conquest into the date of freedom.
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