Three pillars overlooking the Seine
Memorial to the Algerian War and the fighting in Morocco and Tunisia
Officially unveiled in 2002 by the French President, the Memorial to the Algerian War and the fighting in Morocco and Tunisia pays tribute to the men and women, members of the auxiliary formations, conscripts or volunteers, who lost their lives, and also to the civilian victims who died or disappeared in those conflicts between 1954 and 1962. Three pillars with rolling digital displays in the colours of the French flag present the names of the servicemen and civilians who lost their lives.
The Memorial to the Algerian War and the fighting in Morocco and Tunisia. © ONACVG
At the request of a number of organisations and on the initiative of the Minister for Remembrance and Veterans, expansion and improvement works got underway in late 2021 to enhance the memorial and the memories of the war that it evokes, make the site sacrosanct and clearly display its purpose. A 40-metre long tricolour fence now separates the memorial from the road, thereby identifying this remembrance site more clearly. The ground has also been redeveloped in order to demarcate the new area of the monument.
Meanwhile, the modernisation of this Major National Remembrance Site (HLMN) of the Ministry of the Armed Forces has also involved the expansion of the memorial’s perimeter (from 200 to 925 m²) and the installation of two information totems at each entrance to the site. As a result, the site will be more visible to the public. The touchscreens on the totems enable visitors to search names and access high-quality historical, academic and image content.
Mémorial de la guerre d'Algérie et des combats du Maroc et de la Tunisie
© Erwan Rabot
Mémorial de la guerre d'Algérie et des combats du Maroc et de la Tunisie
© Erwan Rabot
Mémorial de la guerre d'Algérie et des combats du Maroc et de la Tunisie
© Erwan Rabot
Mémorial de la guerre d'Algérie et des combats du Maroc et de la Tunisie
© Erwan Rabot
Mémorial de la guerre d'Algérie et des combats du Maroc et de la Tunisie
© Erwan Rabot
Mémorial de la guerre d'Algérie et des combats du Maroc et de la Tunisie
© Erwan Rabot
Following the presentation of these new information devices in March 2022, and as part of the 60th anniversary of the Évian declarations, a programme of remembrance activities is laid on by ONAC-VG staff. The programme includes a round table on the memories specific to the conflict, and the exhibition Guerre d’Algérie, mémoires partagées ? (Algerian War: shared memories?), produced by ONAC-VG;
Pour en savoir plus :
- Save the date: The play Germaine Tillion, la mémoire et la raison. 1954-1962 L’Algérie (Germaine Tillion, memory and reason. 1954-1962: Algeria) will be performed by Théâtre de l’Imprévu on 22 June 2022 at 8 pm, at the Théâtre du Gymnase Marie Bell - Le Grand Gymnase.
- Exposition « La guerre d’Algérie. Histoire commune, mémoires partagées ? » (The Algerian War: common history, shared memories?).
This exhibition was designed by ONAC-VG, as a means of addressing the complexity of the conflict and its remembrance. It was subsequently developed into a full-blown educational programme, centred around passing on the memory of the war.