Focusing on the legacies of the Algerian War of Independence (1954-62), this thesis challenges the perception that this was the ‘war without a name’ by exploring the ways in which memories have been preserved, mobilised, and transmitted by those who experienced the conflict, but who have generally operated under the radar of public consciousness. In particular, it examines the pieds-noirs, the former European settlers of Algeria, and the harkis, Algerians who fought for the French as auxiliaries during the war. Finding their lives in Algeria untenable upon independence, both populations migrated en masse to France where they have organised collectively as diaspora communities to challenge the hegemony of official narratives in order to legitimate their own interpretations of this contentious past. The purpose of such an investigation is to re-evaluate the conventional historical periodisation of a ‘forgotten’ war that made a dramatic return to public attention during the 1990s by revealing a continual presence of memory and commemorative activity within these communities. Through consultation of a wide range of sources, including extensive use of previously neglected audiovisual material, the historical recollections of these two communities are reconstructed in detail and examined from a comparative perspective. This thesis also seeks to analyse and historicize the present guerres de mémoire phenomenon whereby as the public profile of the war has risen in recent years, the different historical interpretations held by groups such as the pieds-noirs and harkis have increasingly come into open conflict, particularly over the issue of commemoration with each seeking to see their version of the past enshrined in official rituals and monuments. Finally, the thesis offers new historical context intended to contribute to enhancing understanding of the ongoing process by which France continues to ‘face up’ to its colonial past and deal with the complex contemporary legacies of this era.

Consacrée à l’analyse comparée du Cid (1661) et de La Parodie du Cid (1972), cette thèse porte sur la « relation critique » qui a été établie par le biais de la parodie entre les deux textes. Empruntée à Daniel Sangsue, l’expression met en évidence le fait que la réécriture parodique d’une œuvre n’est pas seulement un exercice de divertissement, mais une manière de réaliser une critique de l’intérieur, dont le résultat n’est pas une étude analytique, mais un texte littéraire. Néanmoins, si la parodie ne se limite pas à faire rire, elle se construit, certes, en contraste avec le texte parodié – le comique étant un élément fondamental de cette relation. Comme, de 1941 à 1972, la PDC a subi des modifications, une analyse comparée des versions est aussi devenue impérative pour notre étude. Dans ce cas, nous avons évalué si les changements effectués par le parodiste au fil des années ont contribué à une lisibilité accrue de la pièce et à son adaptation à un public changeant. Écrite en Algérie française et en pataouète, la PDC a exigé également une mise en place des enjeux spécifiques de la pièce et de son époque. C’est pour cela que les rapports entre colonie et métropole aussi qu’entre les différents composants de l’ordre colonial sont ici convoqués et problématisés. Notre hypothèse est que la PDC est – selon une formulation de Sangsue – une « critique en acte», puisque se rapprochant du modèle cornélien, Brua prend aussi ses distances, produisant un texte nouveau. / Devoted to a comparative analysis of Le Cid (1661) and La Parodie du Cid (1972), this thesis focuses on the "critical relationship" that has been established through parody between the two texts. Borrowed from Daniel Sangsue, the concept of parody highlights the fact that the parodic rewriting of a text is not merely an exercise for entertainment, but a way of performing a critique from within, the result of which is not an analytical study, but a literary text. Nevertheless, if the parody is not limited to making people laugh, it is certainly built in contrast with the parodied text - the comic being a fundamental element of this relationship. As the PDC underwent changes between 1941 and 1972, a comparative analysis of the versions of the play also became imperative for our study. In this case, we assessed whether the changes made by the parodist over the years contributed to the increased readability of the play and its adaptation to a changing audience. Written in French Algeria and in Pataouète, the PDC also required a set of the specific issues of the play and its time. This is why the relationship between the colony and metropolis as well as between the different components of the colonial order is summoned and problematized here. Our hypothesis is that PDC is – according to a formulation of Sangsue – a "critique in act", since approaching the Cornelian model, Brua also distances himself, producing a new text.

This thesis is an examination of the printed media in France (1955-1963), as represented by two mainstream newspapers: Le Monde (left-centrist) and Le Figaro (right-centrist). Using these newspapers, as well as Gallup polls recorded at the time, this study explores correlations of what was reported in newspapers and how French public opinion evolved during the course of the war. These two major sources of information are shown to have given contradictory information, thus accounting for some of the paradoxes found in public opinion polls. Specifically, the paradoxes analyzed in the study concern the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) and the Pieds-Noirs (the European population of North Africa).