Fernand Yveton
Encyclopedia
Fernand Iveton was the only pied noir among the 198 supporters of the FLN
who were executed (as opposed to being killed in battle) during the war in Algeria
.
Iveton was born in 1926 in Algiers
to a Spanish mother and a French father. The father was a member of the Algerian Communist Party
(PCA) which the younger Iveton also joined, at the age of sixteen. When the PCA and the FLN
signed an agreement in 1956, Iveton, who was a member of the Communist Combattants de la Libération
joined the FLN
as an individual member.
In November 1956,
Iveton, who worked as a turner at the Algerian Gas Company, was given the task of planting a bomb at the Hamma power station. In order not to kill anybody, he decided both to place the bomb in his locker and to set the timer so that the bomb would explode when the workplace would be empty. However, because of his political record, Iveton was closely watched and the bomb was found before it could explode.
Iveton was arrested, tortured, and sentenced to death after a one day trial. A group of lawyers attempted to get President René Coty
to commute the sentence, noting the fact that nobody had been killed or injured, or would have been killed or injured if the bomb had exploded. They failed, because of the press campaign that had been mounted against Iveton. François Mitterrand
, Minister of Justice in the Socialist led Government and future President of France was in favor of the execution of Iveton.
He was guillotined in the yard of Barberousse
prison in Algiers
on 11 February 1957.
A little later, his accomplices, Jacqueline
and Abdelkader Guerroudj
, were tried. He was a political officer who liaised between the Combattants de la Libération
and the FLN, while she was a teacher, originally from Rouen
in France. She had been given the task of handing the bomb materials to Iveton; on being given the assurance that no lives would be lost, she did so.
The Guerroudjs were condemned to death but never executed, partly due to a campaign conducted by Simone de Beauvoir
.
National Liberation Front (Algeria)
The National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Algeria. It was set up on November 1, 1954 as a merger of other smaller groups, to obtain independence for Algeria from France.- Anticolonial struggle :...
who were executed (as opposed to being killed in battle) during the war in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
.
Iveton was born in 1926 in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
to a Spanish mother and a French father. The father was a member of the Algerian Communist Party
Algerian Communist Party
The Algerian Communist Party was a communist party in Algeria. The PCA emerged in 1920 as an extension the French Communist Party and eventually became a separate entity in 1936 ....
(PCA) which the younger Iveton also joined, at the age of sixteen. When the PCA and the FLN
National Liberation Front (Algeria)
The National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Algeria. It was set up on November 1, 1954 as a merger of other smaller groups, to obtain independence for Algeria from France.- Anticolonial struggle :...
signed an agreement in 1956, Iveton, who was a member of the Communist Combattants de la Libération
Combattants de la Libération
Les Combattants de la Libération , also known as Le Maquis Rouge, were a guerrilla group established by theAlgerian Communist Party after the outbreak of the Algerian War of Independence....
joined the FLN
National Liberation Front (Algeria)
The National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Algeria. It was set up on November 1, 1954 as a merger of other smaller groups, to obtain independence for Algeria from France.- Anticolonial struggle :...
as an individual member.
In November 1956,
Iveton, who worked as a turner at the Algerian Gas Company, was given the task of planting a bomb at the Hamma power station. In order not to kill anybody, he decided both to place the bomb in his locker and to set the timer so that the bomb would explode when the workplace would be empty. However, because of his political record, Iveton was closely watched and the bomb was found before it could explode.
Iveton was arrested, tortured, and sentenced to death after a one day trial. A group of lawyers attempted to get President René Coty
René Coty
René Jules Gustave Coty was President of France from 1954 to 1959. He was the second and last president under the French Fourth Republic.-Early life and politics:...
to commute the sentence, noting the fact that nobody had been killed or injured, or would have been killed or injured if the bomb had exploded. They failed, because of the press campaign that had been mounted against Iveton. François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
, Minister of Justice in the Socialist led Government and future President of France was in favor of the execution of Iveton.
He was guillotined in the yard of Barberousse
Barberousse
Barberousse is a 1917 silent French film directed by Abel Gance.-Cast:* Léon Mathot - Trively* Émile Keppens - Gesmus* Maud Richard - Odette Trively* Germaine Pelisse - Pauline* Yvonne Briey* Henri Maillard* Doriani* Paul Vermoyal...
prison in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
on 11 February 1957.
A little later, his accomplices, Jacqueline
Jacqueline Netter-Minne-Guerroudj
Jacqueline Netter-Minne-Guerroudj was a Frenchwoman condemned to death as an accomplice ofFernand Iveton during the Algerian War.She was never executed, partly due to a campaign on her behalf conducted by Simone de Beauvoir....
and Abdelkader Guerroudj
Abdelkader Guerroudj
Abdelkader Guerroudj, an Algerian, and his French wife, Jacqueline Guerroudj, were condemned to death in December 1957 as accomplices of Fernand Iveton, the only European who was guillotined for his part in the Algerian revolt...
, were tried. He was a political officer who liaised between the Combattants de la Libération
Combattants de la Libération
Les Combattants de la Libération , also known as Le Maquis Rouge, were a guerrilla group established by theAlgerian Communist Party after the outbreak of the Algerian War of Independence....
and the FLN, while she was a teacher, originally from Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
in France. She had been given the task of handing the bomb materials to Iveton; on being given the assurance that no lives would be lost, she did so.
The Guerroudjs were condemned to death but never executed, partly due to a campaign conducted by Simone de Beauvoir
Simone de Beauvoir
Simone-Ernestine-Lucie-Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir, often shortened to Simone de Beauvoir , was a French existentialist philosopher, public intellectual, and social theorist. She wrote novels, essays, biographies, an autobiography in several volumes, and monographs on philosophy, politics, and...
.