Algeria: The Third Revolt

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In the cool darkness before Sunday morning dawn, squads of paratroopers stealthily slipped through the streets of Algiers. One group ringed the ornate Moorish residence of France's delegate general in Algeria, Jean Morin, and unceremoniously took him prisoner in his bed. Also seized was Transport Minister Robert Buron, who happened to be visiting Algiers. Other paratroopers took prisoner the top military man in Algeria. General Fernand Gambiez, and occupied all the city's key buildings—post office, police and government offices. Shortly before 9 a.m., Radio Algiers announced the news to the stunned city: three paratroop regiments had taken over "all power" of government in defiance of Charles de Gaulle. Leaders of the coup were identified as four retired French generals, headed by former Chief of the Air Force General Maurice Challe, once De Gaulle's commander in Algeria.

Twice before in the last three years, uprisings in Algeria, tacitly encouraged by French army officers, have brought France to the edge of chaos and prevented any peace settlement in Algeria. The first revolt brought down the Fourth Republic and boosted Charles de Gaulle to power. The second, when barricades went up in the streets of Algiers 15 months ago, was designed to stop De Gaulle from negotiating for an independent Algeria. But last week's was no civilian uprising aided and abetted by soldiers. It was a mutiny in the army itself.

Sold Out. What triggered the mutiny was the realization that De Gaulle was about to sit down to talk with the very rebels that the French army had fought for more than six years, and now seemed ready to hand over to them an independent and prosperous Algeria. The desperate white settlers, who have exploded more than 100 bombs this month to protest the coming peace talks, were delirious with joy at the news of the revolt. They took to the streets in cheering crowds and drove about Algiers in their cars, sounding three short honks and two long ones on their horns, symbolizing the old ultra battle cry: Al-gé-rie Fran-çaise. They scarcely cared that the army was not fighting primarily for the colons, whom it scorns, but for its own concept of army honor. Humiliated in World War II, defeated again at Dienbienphu, France's career soldiers are obsessed with proving that they can win a campaign in the field.

In Algeria, they think that they have the battle just about won—and De Gaulle, as they see it, plans to throw it all away.

Challe, 55, the leader of the revolt, is a brilliant and trusted soldier of France. He was De Gaulle's choice two years ago to replace General Raoul Salan, who was fired as Algerian commander for his right-wing insurrectionary sympathies with settlers. The "Challe Plan." under which crack army units were removed from fixed bases and sent freewheeling about Algeria in search of rebels, had been a smashing success: from a high of 100,000 guerrillas when he took over, the rebels are now down to 15,000. In retirement for the past three months, Challe apparently plotted his coup with Salan, who is in exile in Madrid, and three field commanders in Algeria. A squat, soft-spoken man, Challe arrived in Algiers only last week, and nobody gave his presence a thought—except the clutch of officers in on the coup.