One of the last surviving members of the government of French President Charles de Gaulle is being sued over the deaths of thousands of Algerians.
A lawsuit being filed in Paris on Tuesday alleges that, in a deliberately racist policy, white settlers were evacuated and pro-French Algerians were abandoned to their fate as the independence war drew to a close.
Tens of thousands of them died in the brutal reprisals which followed at the hands of the victorious Algerian National Liberation Front.
Now, 87-year-old former armed forces minister Pierre Messmer is being sued over the deaths by representatives of the pro-French Algerians, known as "harkis".
"
It was a genuine act of ethnic cleansing
"
Emmanuel Altit
Algerians' lawyer
The legal action is based on a new book alleging that Mr De Gaulle refused any escape route to loyal Algerians in 1962.
The book, A French Lie by Georges-Marc Benamou, says Mr De Gaulle's decision was motivated by racism - a charge strongly denied by supporters of the late French president.
Mr Messmer has said that Algerians who fought for France were offered the choice between integration into the French army or a small pay-off, and most took the latter.
The lawsuit accuses Mr Messmer of crimes against humanity over the affair.
'Therapy'
Lawyer Emmanuel Altit, representing the Algerians, said the case had several aims.
"It was a genuine act of ethnic cleansing," he said.
"Startling new documents are appearing from the period and people want to speak out.
"The aim of our plea is judicial... but it is also an act of education and of therapy. France's perception of its victims has changed."
White settlers - known as "pieds-noirs" were hastily pulled out of Algeria, but most of the "harkis" were unable to escape the reprisals which followed.
It is estimated that between 70,000 and 150,000 of them died. Around 40,000 escaped to France.
The book claims to have access to government documents from the time, and quotes Mr De Gaulle as saying the harkis were a "rag-tag" army who "served absolutely no purpose and of whom we must rid ourselves as soon as possible".
He was later recorded as exclaiming, "French - those people? With their turbans and djellabas (long robes)!", the book alleges.
The Charles de Gaulle Institute has denied the racism claims.
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