CHAPTER VI
FRENCH ADMINISTRATION OF ALGERIA
1. Civilian
The administration of any country to a foreigner is always rather incomprehensible, but the manner in which Algeria is administered by the French is more than a surprise.
It is not our duty to criticize the method of government of this country, and let it be said at once that, strange as the method may seem, the results are admirable.
To the uninitiated, Algeria is a colony such as Kenya or the Gold Coast, with a Governor and all the general system of working dominions beyond the seas. But, though the country is administered by a Governor-General, he does not, as might be supposed, depend on the Colonial Office, neither do any of his reports pass through the hands of the Colonial Secretary. His tenure of office is, moreover most uncertain, and he is only appointed for a period of six months at a time, renewable at the end of each period, and this appointment is made by the Home Office (Ministère de l’Intérieur) in Paris, under whose jurisdiction he is.
At first this contradiction of things seems hard to understand, and one is forced to penetrate further into the inner workings of Algeria to understand. In the first place, North Africa—with the exception of Tunisia and Morocco, which are protectorates—is divided into three departments, with practically the same organization as in France. That is to say, each department sends to the Parliament in Paris one senator and two deputies, who are elected by the French inhabitants of the country and by those Arabs who have opted for French nationality.
These departments have their préfets and sous-préfets, as in France, and the towns their mayors, with the municipal council, juges de paix, commissaires de police, etc. Thus up to this point the system of administration in the three departments is identical with that in the mother country.
The first slight difference we come upon is in the case of what are known as communes mixtes. These centers are those where the Arab population is in excess of the French. In this case the mayor is replaced by an administrateur. The area covered by the jurisdiction of this individual is much larger than the commune under the mayor, and comprises numerous douars, or native villages. The administrateur, who wears a vague uniform, something between that of an officer and a lion-tamer, is trained specially for his post. He is assisted in his duties by an administrateur adjoint and by a commission municipale. This commission municipale is composed partly of Frenchmen elected in the area of the commune mixte, and partly of Arabs belonging to the various douars, who are appointed by the Governor-General. The caïds and other Arab chiefs—of whom we will speak later—assist the administrateur as his agents in their respective areas.
The administrateur himself has certain powers of jurisdiction over Arabs, but all those who are French citizens have recourse to the ordinary civil power.
This, therefore, in a few words is the system of administration of Algeria proper, and it would all seem quite simple if we did not suddenly come face to face with the Governor-General. Here, in the midst of all this peaceful organization associated with the Great Revolution, we have Monsieur Le Gouverneur-Général, with his summer palace, his staff, his aides-de-camp, naval and military, flying the tricolor on his motor-car, while the guard turns out and presents arms. What has he to do with all the senators and deputies and préfets?