Background
General Charles de Gaulle had headed the Free French Forces that resisted Nazi Germany during World War II, becoming a national and military hero. Upon the liberation of France in 1944, General de Gaulle became prime minister in a provisional government. However, disagreements and political conflicts prompted him to quit and retire from the military and politics in 1946. A decade later, the ensuing political conflicts of the French Fourth Republic, aggravated by the outbreak of the Algerian War and economic discontent led to popular revolts against the government, headed by fractious political parties. Uncertainty against the government's policy on Algeria (many political parties supported giving Algeria independence) angered the millions of French settlers, army officers and right-wing politicians in France. French army generals in both Paris and Algiers began exerting pressure on French politicians to return de Gaulle to a position of power.
Read more about this topic: Operation Resurrection
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