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Algeria: The Massacre in Paris

How French police turned on Algerian demonstrators in Paris in 1961, killing dozens.

During their country's War of Independence, Algerian fighters from the FLN also targeted the French mainland, killing police officers in Paris and other cities. In October 1961, French police turned against Algerian demonstrators in the capital who'd been called out onto the streets by the FLN. Dozens were shot, others drowned in the River Seine. For decades, the killings were not officially acknowledged. In 2011, Jannat Jalil heard from one man whose sister died that day.

Photo: Algerian demonstrators under arrest after a rally in Paris in October1961 (AFP/Getty Images)

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