by Samuel Jaberg, swissinfo.ch

Fifty years ago French and Algerian representatives signed a series of peace accords in the French town of Evian, ending Algeria’s brutal eight-year war of independence.

By offering its good offices under a policy of active neutrality, which helped resolve the conflict, historian Marc Perrenoud tells swissinfo.ch.

Perrenoud specialises in Swiss foreign policy for the research centre Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland, and is the author of an article on the Evian accords for the Swiss foreign ministry’s Politorbis journal.

swissinfo.ch: How important were the Evian accords for Swiss diplomacy?

Marc Perrenoud: This treaty is a particularly brilliant example of the policy of active neutrality developed by Swiss cabinet minister Max Petitpierre after the Second World War.

Switzerland was keen to express its solidarity with the rest of the world and to try to end conflicts when it had the opportunity.

This is exactly what happened at the end of 1960 when Switzerland was approached after the failure of direct talks between France and Algeria. The two parties asked the Swiss to facilitate negotiations, which had become particularly difficult given the brutal war that had been taking place in Algeria since 1954. Switzerland made a crucial contribution towards resolving the conflict.

swissinfo.ch: What were the Swiss government’s feelings about this policy of active neutrality applied to the Algerian context?

M.P.: At the start only Petitpierre and his close officials held secret contacts and steered the negotiations. It’s not clear whether the government would have given its immediate go-ahead for Swiss diplomats to get involved.

Some feared that an independent Algeria would favour the Communists. Others worried that the French would criticise the Swiss for being too supportive of the independence movement, especially as numerous actions in support of the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) on Swiss soil annoyed the French. Another fear was linked to the possible influx of Algerians in the event of independence, at a time when Switzerland was trying to limit the numbers of foreign workers.

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