From empire to exile explores the commemorative afterlives of the Algerian War of Independence (1954-62), one of the world's most iconic wars of decolonisation. It focuses on the million French settlers - pieds-noirs - and the tens of thousands of harkis - the French army's native auxiliaries - who felt compelled to migrate to France when colonial rule ended. Challenging the idea that Algeria was a 'forgotten' war that only returned to French public attention in the 1990s, this study reveals a dynamic picture of memory activism undertaken continuously since 1962 by grassroots communities connected to this conflict. Reconceptualising the ways in which the Algerian War has been debated, evaluated and commemorated in the subsequent five decades, this book makes an original contribution to important discussions surrounding the contentious issues of memory, migration and empire in contemporary France. "Overall, Eldridge's study provides consistently thorough and insightful analysis of the underlying factors that shape disputes in France over the commemoration of colonial past and the consequences of the Algerian War. Her study offers a compelling guide to a bitterly contested memorial landscape in contemporary France and the persistently tense conditions of interaction between the state and a range of competing interest groups." - Hugh Hiscock, University of Liverpool, Bulletin of Francophone Postcolonial Studies "From empire to exile is essential reading on its subject. It is an exemplary illustration of the very best in memory." - Natalya Vince, University of Portsmouth, The Journal of North African Studies, 2017 "Eldridge's study provides consistently thorough and insightful analysis of the underlying factors that shape disputes in France over the commemoration of colonial past and the consequences of the Algerian War. Her study offers a compelling guide to a bitterly contested memorial landscape in contemporary France and the persistently tense conditions of interaction between the state and a range of competing interest groups." - Hugh Hiscock, University of Liverpool, Bulletin of Francophone Postcolonial Studies 8.2 "The book will be of interest to a wide variety of readers - including students and scholars of contemporary France, Empire, history and memory. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone interested in the evolution of social memories of Algeria in France." - Jo McCormack, Nottingham Trent University, European History Quarterly, Vol. 48, No. 2 This book explores the memory of the war of independence in France as viewed by the former European settlers (pieds-noirs) and the harkis, those Algerians who worked for the French security forces. It examines how the memorial dynamics of the two groups are related both to each other and to other memories of the war. From empire to exile explores the legacies of the Algerian War of Independence in France. In July 1962, when French rule in Algeria ended after almost eight years of intensely violent conflict, it produced one of the largest migratory waves of the post-1945 era. Almost a million French settlers - pieds-noirs - and tens of thousands of harkis - native auxiliaries who had fought with the French army - felt compelled to leave their homeland and cross the Mediterranean to France. Tracing the history of these two communities, From empire to exile uses the long-standing grassroots collective mobilisation and memory activism undertaken by both groups to challenge the idea that this was a 'forgotten' war that only returned to public attention in the 1990s. Revealing the rich and dynamic interactions produced as pieds-noirs, harkis and other groups connected to this conflict engaged with each other and with state-sanctioned narratives, this study demonstrates the fundamental ways in which postcolonial minorities have shaped the landscapes of French politics, society and culture since 1962. It also helps place the current 'memory wars' deemed to be sweeping France in their wider historical context, proving that the current competition for control over the representation of the past in the public sphere is not a recent development, but the culmination of long-running processes. By reconceptualising the ways in which the Algerian War has been debated, evaluated and commemorated in the five decades since it ended, this book makes an original contribution to important discussions surrounding the contentious issues of memory, migration and empire in contemporary France. This book will be of interest to students and academics in French history, cultural studies, memory studies and postcolonial studies. From empire to exile explores the legacies of the Algerian War of Independence in France. In July 1962, when French rule in Algeria ended after almost eight years of intensely violent conflict, it produced one of the largest migratory waves of the post-1945 era. Almost a million French settlers - pieds-noirs - and tens of thousands of