What was the Algerian Manifesto drafted by Ferhat Abbas?

The "Manifesto of the Algerian People," prepared by Ferhat Abbas and proclaimed on February 10, 1943, marked a significant shift in his political stance regarding French colonial rule in Algeria.1

Presented to French and Allied authorities in North Africa, the manifesto condemned colonial rule and demanded an Algerian constitution that would grant equality to all inhabitants of the country, while calling for the application of the principle of self-determination.12

In May 1943, Abbas and his colleagues drafted an addendum to the manifesto that envisioned a sovereign Algerian nation. Following the rejection of these proposals by the French governor-general, Abbas helped form the Amis du Manifeste et de la Liberté (AML), which advocated for an autonomous Algerian republic federated with a renewed, anti-colonial France. These efforts represented a transition from his earlier advocacy for assimilation toward a more nationalist position, eventually laying the groundwork for the political movements that preceded the Algerian War of Independence.12