NORTH AFRICA

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 98, 27 April 1935, Page 7

NORTH AFRICA

GROWING UNREST

ALGERIA, TUNISIA, MOROCCO

ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

The last few weeks have provided some evidence of the growing concern that the state of affairs in North Africa is causing the French Government. French North Africa has not been "in the news" for a long time; and whenever the French Press reported unpleasant facts such as the Jewish massacre at Constantine last August it represented them as being purely local incidents, with little or no reference to the general economic and political situation in Algeria, says a writer in the "Manchester Guardian." In reality that incident was only one demonstration in msny of the acute economic discontent and the growing political unrest from which French North Africa is suffering. The question "Will France be able to hold North Africa?" .has not arisen; but every close observer of North African affairs agrees that the problem of French rule over Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco is becoming increasingly difficult and delicate. If the "close econc mic co-operation" between France and North Africa is to continue it will require much adjustment; and the political agitation against France among the natives has become so strong that some impartial., observers seriously doubt whether North Africa may confidently be considered in future as a reservoir of military man power. ALGERIA. Economically the trouble has been described as follows by a leading authority on French colonial problems: "The trouble is that Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco are Mediterranean countries which, with only a few excep-; tions, produce practically the same commodities as France herself." This is largely true.. For instance, over halt of Algerians exports to France consists of wine. 'There is' fierce', competition between the Algerian and. the French wine growers; and the latter have been demanding for years the abolition of free Algerian wine imports into France. But this Protectionism is in' complete contradiction .with the "Imperial" doctrine of considering Algeria as being economically an integral part of France. By keeping her market open to wine from Algeria (which is, of course) a very important buyer of French.goods —over three milliard francs a, year) France is aggravating the.difficulties of her own wine growers. But if se-

vere quotas were set up against Algerian wine it would be the ruin of Algeria.

The real trouble in Algerians, political rather than economic. The virtual exclusion of Algerians from Government posts is the cause of violent anti-French agitation among the educated Algerians. This agitation is. oniy strengthened by the "Pan-Islamic" movement, the programme of which was drawn up at the Jerusalem congress of 1931. Though this programme is mainly concerned with the purification of Mohammedan religious practice and with the setting up of private schools for the teaching of classical Arabic, it is also directed ■ against European colonisation. When the adherents of this movement began- to preach in Algerian mosques the French authorities decided to take measures against this practice, which they described as "political propaganda." None but fully-qualifled priests were :to be allowed to preach in mosques. In turn. these French measures were denounced by the Algerian "neo-Wahabites" as "French interference with the Moslem religion." There were as a result some violent. anti-French riots in March, 1933, The anti-Jewish riots—the worst of which occurred in August, ,1934— were also part of the anti-French movement, the Jews being since 1870 in the position of privileged citizens, enjoying the same civic rights as the F-rehch colonists. TUNISIA. Tunisia is economically in an incomparably worse position than even Algeria. She is a free market for French imports, but France is not a free mar-; ket for Tunisian exports. Since 1918, when French quota restrictions were! imposed on Tunisian wine, the situa-! tion in the protectorate has gone from bad' to' worse. The Tunisian farmers became so inextricably involved .in: debt that a moratorium had to be proclaimed last year. The Governor-Gen-eral of Tunis himself recently admitted that "Tunisian agriculture is not worth its amount of indebtedness," and, the rural population is described in a recent French publication (whose au-j thor is not a Communist but, on the; contrary, an "Empire Free-trader") as being "on the brink of starvation." ' , Although.the Tunisian middle class is largely Frenchified, this has not prevented in recent years the growth; of a strong anti-French movement in! Tunisia. The . Destour, a Moslem organisation, or rather the "neo-j Destour" (for the original organisa-tion-was disbanded in 1933), has been conducting an active campaign against France, and particularly against naturalised French Moslems, .whom it refused to allow to be buried in Moslem cemeteries. Such burials of "unclean" Moslems gave rise to, serious trouble some months ago, until the authorities were obliged to establsh special cemeteries for naturalised

Moslems. There has also been a tenfi tative boycott of French goods and sj™. strong movement against the Frenchr Administration and the Bey of Tunisr;a "French, puppet:" In Septemberr 1934, eight Tunisian nationalists werC exiled to the Sahara-region, a measurtf which gave rise to much violence. Z. Morocco is less badly off, though thtfsymptoms of trouble are also;.present;1 Unlike Tunisia and Algeria; ■ she :is not economically tied to France's ■■ apronstring?, for the' "open door" agreed upon at the Conference "of'Algeciras is still in force. Morocco has therefore not been compelled, like Tunisia, to buy French , goods regardless of the price and without getting anything in return. The French argue, however, that her export trade, which has fallen by 50 per cent, since 1929, could be in> proved if she had the tariff weapon to bargain with, and: some attempts have been made by France to obtain the revision of, the Statute of Algeciras. Morocco is a rich country, but the optimism with which she concentrated in the'early days of the protectorate on the development of wheat-growing has recently been the cause of many difficulties. . . ' There are phosphate deposits in all the three North African countries, but as their marketing is controlled by a single consortium the production has been regulated and Moroccan phosphates ■ (though of. higher quality) have not been allowed to kill the Tunisian and Algerian phosphates. This is the only notable case of organised "Empire" production. Morocco may become very important, economically if recently-discovered oil deposits prove to be as great as some believe, but this is still an obscure point. The political unrest is less noticeable in IWorocco than in the two other North African countries; but close observers say that the Moroccan temperament .is particularly inflammable, and that once the trouble started there it would be likely to be more serious than in Algeria or Tunisia. '.£' .Every close observer of Morocco agrees that French colonial practice if at, present differing substantially frorft, French colonial theory, that iyauteyjg: doctrine of a "generous native '■'policy**is being completely neglected, and thai France's method, of dealing with her colonies, protectorates, and mandates territories calls, in her jown interests, for a thorough revision.. ■ ~ At Reno, U.S.A., America's famous ds? vorce city, they are used to this sort -of thing. The other day Miss Dorothy Williams, of Fresno,-walked into the mag> riage licence bureau with two men. "Whicfi one is the groom?" the clerk asked. MiSS Williams replied she hadn't decided. The clerk drew a half-dollar out of the casli drawer and nipped it. One of the meji said ''Heads," and "heads" it was, so he and Miss Williams ' were married shortly afterward by the district Judge. The man; who called, "Tails" was one of the wit-' nesses to the ceremony. .'.",