Generals' Putsch
| Algiers putsch | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 From left to right: French Generals André Zeller, Edmond Jouhaud, Raoul Salan and Maurice Challe during the coup (Gouvernement General building, Algiers, April 23, 1961). |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 France
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French nationalists |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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President Charles de Gaulle Michel Debré
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Maurice Challe Edmond Jouhaud André Zeller Raoul Salan Hélie Denoix de Saint Marc
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| Strength | |||||||
| Government-loyal armed force | Counter force armed force | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 soldier killed | |||||||
The Algiers putsch (French: Putsch d'Alger or Coup d'État d'Alger), also known as the Generals' putsch (Putsch des généraux), was a failed coup d'état to overthrow French President Charles de Gaulle and establish a military junta. Organised in French Algeria by retired French army generals Maurice Challe (former commander-in-chief in French Algeria), Edmond Jouhaud (former Inspector General of the French Air Force), André Zeller (former Chief of staff of the French Ground Army) and Raoul Salan (former commander-in-chief in French Algeria), it took place from the afternoon of 21 April to 26 April 1961 in the midst of the Algerian War (1954–62).
The organisers of the putsch were opposed to the secret negotiations that French Prime Minister Michel Debré's government had started with the anti-colonialist National Liberation Front (FLN). Gen. Raoul Salan stated that he joined the coup without concerning himself with its technical planning; however, it has always been considered a four-man coup d'état, or as de Gaulle famously put it, "un quarteron de généraux en retraite" (a handful of retired generals / generals in retreat).
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