60 years on, independence war defines modern Algeria Sixty years on, the war of independence from Fr

60 years on, independence war defines modern Algeria

Sixty years on, the war of independence from France remains a defining moment for Algeria and its elite, like 79-year-old Zohra Drif, a senator who once set off a bomb that left three people dead.

On the night of November 1, 1954, known as “Toussaint Rouge” (Red All Saints Day) because it coincided with the Catholic festival, some 30 explosions rocked government targets in the colony which had been under French occupation for 132 years, leaving seven people dead.