Misplaced Pages

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (February 2024) Click for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Misplaced Pages. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Misplaced Pages article at ]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|fr|Détournement de l'avion du FLN}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Misplaced Pages:Translation.

French hijacking of the FLN plane

Hijacking
Date	22 October 1956 (1956-10-22)
Summary	Hijacking by the French Armed Forces; flight redirected from Tunis to Algiers
Site	Mediterranean Sea
Total fatalities	0
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Douglas DC-3
Operator	Royal Air Maroc
Flight origin	Rabat, Morocco
Destination	Tunis, Tunisia

On 22 October 1956, French forces hijacked a Moroccan civilian aircraft carrying leaders of the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) during the ongoing Algerian War. The Douglas DC-3 belonging to Royal Air Maroc was carrying Ahmed Ben Bella, Hocine Aït Ahmed, Mohamed Boudiaf, Mostefa Lacheraf [ar], and Mohamed Khider. It was destined to leave from Palma de Mallorca for Tunis where the FLN leaders were to conference with Prime Minister Habib Bourguiba, but French forces intercepted the civilian aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea and redirected the flight to occupied Algiers, where the FLN leaders were arrested, derailing the planned conference in Tunis. It's considered one of the most important events in the Algerian War.

Context

The French protectorate over Morocco had ended months before, and King Muhammad V supported the FLN in the struggle for Algerian independence.

Details

On 21 October 1956, King Muhammad V of Morocco received a delegation of leaders of the Algerian National Liberation Front—Ahmed Ben Bella, Hocine Aït Ahmed, Mohamed Boudiaf, Mostefa Lacheraf [ar], and Mohamed Khider—in Rabat. France disapproved of the meeting and Alain Savary, French Secretary of State for Tunisian and Moroccan Affairs under Guy Mollet, announced the suspension of aid to Morocco.

22 October at midday, with fake documents, the FLN delegation left Rabat for Tunis by way of Palma in Spain in order to avoid flying over Algeria to circumvent France. The Douglas DC-3 registered "F. OABV" belonged to Royal Air Maroc, an airline owned by the Moroccan state. After departing Palma, French forces over the Mediterranean redirected the Moroccan aircraft, ordering the French pilot to land it in Algiers where the FLN delegation was arrested.

Max Lejeune [fr], Secretary of State for the Armed Forces, and Henri Lorillot [fr] and other French generals in Algiers were responsible for the operation, without interference from Robert Lacoste, French resident minister and governor general of Algiers at the time.

The hijacking and arrest of the FLN leadership derailed the planned conference in Tunis, to have been attended by the FLN delegation as well as Habib Bourguiba and Muhammad V, with the goal of establishing a North African Federation to promote the independence of Algeria and end the French-Algerian war.

Aftermath

King Muhammad V of Morocco was distraught and "feared for his own life."

Anti-French riots broke out targeting French people in and around Meknes, with dozens of casualties.

Legacy

Maati Monjib mentioned historians discussing the event as the first instance of a passenger aircraft hijacking in history, but it is not the case.

Diplomat Consequences of the Hijacking

With the leaders of the FLN (National Liberation Front), authorities seized documents providing formal evidence of Egyptian support for the FLN. However, the revelation of this support did not calm tensions; rather, it intensified them. In Morocco, violent anti-French riots resulted in around sixty deaths, with all victims being Europeans who were brutally massacred. Meanwhile, the Sultan adopted a firmer stance by recalling his ambassador from Paris. Habib Bourguiba took a similar position, and France faced severe criticism across the Arab world. Leftist French media reacted with extreme hostility, leading to the resignation of Alain Savary, Secretary of State for Moroccan and Tunisian Affairs, along with his chief of staff, Claude Cheysson. Pierre de Leusse, France's ambassador to Tunisia, also resigned from his post.

For the FLN, the capture of Ben Bella and his companions was not considered an irreparable loss, as these five men were politicians who could be easily replaced. Ben Bella famously stated at the time of his arrest: "This will change nothing!" Within forty-eight hours, the FLN distributed a leaflet in Algiers stating: "Five of our leaders have been arrested, but the machine remains in place." Conversely, the severing of relations with France was a significant blow to both parties. Although the FLN was now assured powerful support from Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco, it lost direct dialogue with France. On his part, Guy Mollet was furious; the operation occurred without his knowledge, and secret negotiations that had been initiated in Rome with the FLN were abruptly terminated. France was left facing a choice between total military victory or a complete abandonment of Algeria.

References

1. ^ Essemlali, Mounya (2011). "Le Maroc entre la France et l'Algérie (1956-1962)". Relations Internationales. 146 (2): 77–93. doi:10.3917/ri.146.0077. ISSN 0335-2013.
2. ^ "22 October 1956 : Ben Bella, King Mohammed V and the story of the re-routed plane". en.yabiladi.com. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
3. ^ Essa (2020-10-22). "أكتوبر في تاريخ المغرب أحداث وأهوال | المعطي منجب". القدس العربي (in Arabic). Retrieved 2022-08-22.
4. ^ "Alger 1956 : la France donne l'exemple du détournement d'avion". France Inter (in French). 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
5. Leprince, Chloé (25 May 2021). "Détournement d'avion : quand l'armée française jouait les pirates de l'air" [Plane hijacking: when the French army played the air pirates]. Radio France.
6. ^ Largeaud, Jean-Marc (2016-07-28). "Violences urbaines, Maroc 1956". Annales de Bretagne et des pays de l'Ouest (123–2): 107–129. doi:10.4000/abpo.3306. ISSN 0399-0826.
7. "L'affaire du F. OABV (Maroc c. France)". Annuaire Français de Droit International. 4 (1): 282–295. 1958. doi:10.3406/afdi.1958.1382.
8. Buttin, Maurice (2015). Ben Barka, Hassan II, De Gaulle : ce que je sais d'eux. Karthala. ISBN 978-2-8111-1499-2. OCLC 930600058.
9. Et Ben Bella fut capturé in Histotia Magazine Guerre d'Algérie, pp : 801, no 219, mars 1972
10. Roger Faligot, Jean Guisnel, Rémi Kauffer, Histoire politique des services secrets français La Découverte 2013 p. 178

v t e Algerian War (1954–1962)
Background	Settler colonialism French conquest of Algeria Invasion of Algiers Atrocities Mokrani Revolt Deportations French Algeria Algerian popular resistance Algerian nationalism Attempted reforms 1920 petition Jonnart Law 1943 manifesto Divide and rule policies Crémieux Decree Kabyle myth French Union Indigénat Legal status [fr] Pied noir Sétif and Guelma massacre Other factors Cold War Decolonisation of Africa Brazzaville Conference (1944) First Indochina War (1946–54) Malagasy Uprising (1947–49) Massacre of 14 July 1953 in Paris
War	Chronology [fr] of key events Declaration of 1 November 1954 Toussaint Rouge Battle of Philippeville Soummam conference Battle of Algiers Hijacking of the FLN plane Operation Corsica Week of barricades [fr] Algiers putsch War crimes / human rights violations Torture Killing of Saadia Mebarek Charonne subway massacre Paris massacre Reactions Communauté française Constantine Plan FLN football team Manifesto of the 121 Proposed partition of Algeria [fr]
End of the war	1961 French referendum on Algerian self-determination Évian Accords referendum Algerian independence
Legacy and aftermath	May 1958 crisis French Fifth Republic Year of Africa Aftermath in Algeria 1962 Algerian crisis Effects in Algerian politics Films Monuments and commemorations 1 November 1954 Stadiums Algiers Batna El Oued Tizi Ouzou Martyrs' Memorial Memorial to the Liberation of Algeria
Groups	Pro-independence National Liberation Front National Liberation Army Algerian National Movement Algerian Communist Party Oujda Group Anti-independence France French Armed Forces Commandos de Chasse La Main Rouge Front Algérie Française Organisation armée secrète Other groups Defectors from the French army to the ALN Harkis Women
Category / Commons

• Aviation accidents and incidents in 1956
• National Liberation Front (Algeria)
• Military operations of the Algerian War
• France–Morocco relations
• October 1956 events in Africa
• 1956 crimes in Morocco
• Algeria–Morocco relations
• Algeria–France military relations
• Aircraft hijackings in Africa
• 1956 in the Algerian War
• Battle of Algiers (1956–1957)
• Terrorism in the Algerian War
• Terrorist incidents in Algeria in the 1950s
• Terrorism committed by France
• Aviation accidents and incidents in Algeria
• Hijackings in the 1950s
• Aviation accidents and incidents in Morocco
• Terrorist incidents in Morocco
• Aviation accidents and incidents in the Mediterranean Sea
• Royal Air Maroc accidents and incidents
• Terrorist incidents in Africa in 1956
• 1956 crimes in Algeria
• Air accident or incident in Algeria during the colonial era