Regroupement camps in the Algerian War

Between 1957 and 1961, the French army forcibly displaced between two and three million Algerians from their homes during the Algerian War. By late 1960, over 1,150 regroupment (regrouping; gathering) camps had been created. They held more than 2.1 million civilians, nearly a quarter of Algeria's population at the time. It is estimated that almost 200,000 Algerians died in these camps, and a third of them were infants less than one year old.

The French military described these operations as “regroupements,” claiming they aimed to separate civilians from National Liberation Front (FLN) fighters and bring development to rural areas. In practice, the army evacuated entire villages, demolished homes, and relocated families into zones enclosed by barbed wire. In many camps, military oversight replaced civilian structures, and movement was tightly controlled. Consequently, these camps were instruments of military control.

In 1959, Michel Rocard, then an inspector of finance, wrote an internal report to Prime Minister Guy Mollet, denouncing the inhumane conditions in these camps. He warned that “These were not development tools; they were instruments of war.” He described scenes of hunger, disease, and disorientation. Later research by historians Fabien Sacriste, Malika Rahal, Sylvie Thénault, Raphaëlle Branche, Kamel Kateb, and others confirmed the patterns witnessed by Rocard and placed them within a wider strategy of counterinsurgency.

The deportation and internment of civilians, carried out under military command and accompanied by the destruction of property, fall under Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention: “individual or mass forcible transfers” of protected civilians are prohibited, regardless of motive. By this measure, the regroupement policy constitutes a war crime.