Paris massacre of 1961

Paris massacre of 1961
Part of Algerian war
Tagged on the Saint-Michel Bridge in 1961: "Ici on noie les Algériens" ("Here we drown Algerians"). Dozens of bodies were later pulled from the River Seine
Coordinates	48°51′35″N 2°21′00″E / 48.8597°N 2.35°E / 48.8597; 2.35Coordinates: 48°51′35″N 2°21′00″E / 48.8597°N 2.35°E / 48.8597; 2.35
Deaths	40/200+
Victims	a demonstration of some 30,000 pro-National Liberation Front (FLN) Algerians
Perpetrators	head of the Parisian police, Maurice Papon, the French National Police

The Paris massacre of 1961 occurred on 17 October 1961, during the Algerian War (1954–62). Under orders from the head of the Parisian police, Maurice Papon, the French National Police attacked a demonstration of some 30,000 pro-National Liberation Front (FLN) Algerians. Two months before, the FLN had decided to increase its bombing in France and to resume the campaign against both pro-France Algerians and the rival Algerian nationalist organization, the Algerian National Movement in France. After 37 years of denial, in 1998 the French government acknowledged 40 deaths, although there are estimates of 100 to 300 victims.

The massacre appears to have been intentional, as has been demonstrated by historian Jean-Luc Einaudi (), who won a trial against Maurice Papon in 1999 – the latter was convicted in 1998 on charges of crimes against humanity for his role under the Vichy collaborationist regime during World War II. Official documentation and eyewitnesses within the Paris police department indeed suggest that the massacre was directed by Papon. Police records show that Papon called for officers in one station to be "subversive" in quelling the demonstrations, and assured them protection from prosecution if they participated.

Forty years later, Bertrand Delanoë, the Socialist Mayor of Paris, put a plaque in remembrance of the massacre on the Saint-Michel bridge on 17 October 2001. How many demonstrators were killed is still unclear. In the absence of official estimates, the placard which commemorates the massacre stated: "In memory of the many Algerians killed during the bloody repression of the peaceful demonstration of 17 October 1961". On 18 February 2007 (the day after Papon's death), calls were made for a Paris Métro station under construction in Gennevilliers to be named "17 Octobre 1961" in commemoration of the massacre.