Special Services Algeria 1955–1957: My Testimony on Torture

The Battle of Algiers in 1957, seen and lived by one of its principal actors, who breaks the silence and tells the truth.

His revelations about torture and summary executions reignite a painful debate about the Algerian War. From 1955 to 1957, the French Republic dispatched one of its best secret agents to Algeria: Paul Aussaresses. Even though his name was still unknown to the general public, in the very closed circles of the special services, this former Free French paratrooper, a veteran of the Indochina War and founder of the 11th Shock Battalion (the armed wing of the SDECE), was already considered a living legend. But this larger-than-life hero was to be drawn into Algeria, without having sought it in any way, on a mission that would prove to be the most difficult of all.

The objective? To fight against terrorism erected into a system by the FLN. Paul Aussaresses had taken the vow of silence required of men in the shadows, and his secrets could have disappeared with him. Few people knew what he had done in Algeria. Yet he decided to speak with impressive frankness, without regard for the prevailing mood, recounting how he carried out his mission during two decisive episodes in which he was, behind the scenes, one of the key actors: the Philippeville affair in 1955 and the Battle of Algiers in 1957. Without false shame and without indulgence, Paul Aussaresses dares to tell a truth that is often difficult, speaking of torture and summary executions. A crucial testimony, with revelations and confirmations to better understand the problems facing an army when the State assigns it the mission of combating by all means a rebellion that uses terror to force the population to support it and provoke repression that will sensitize international opinion.