The Suitcase or the Coffin

Available for over a year

Seventy years after the start of the Algerian War of Independence - and as a divided France struggles to repair its broken politics - Edward Stourton presents tales from a colonial past which still cast a shadow over the present. This is the story of how, at the end of the war, France greeted the tens of thousands of French and Algerians who, virtually overnight, felt they had no choice but to leave Algeria. They feared for their future, and even for their lives. But the idea that many of them were simply 'coming back' to their homeland was far from the truth. Sound design: Peregrine Andrews Producers: Adele Armstrong and Ellie House Editor: Richard Vadon Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman REFERENCES "Ceasefire in Algeria announced by de Gaulle 1962” British Pathe. “In a Savage War of Peace” Alastair Horne.