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For France, World War II was like a giant toddler that stomped all over the country, [Toddler kicking over buildings in Paris]

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kicking over buildings like sandcastles.

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We hope its mom told it be careful around the Eiffel Tower.

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That thing’s pointy.

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What we’re getting at…in our roundabout way… is that France was having a rough time [France laying on a hospital bed]

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recovering.

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You don’t go through occupation by an enemy and a major war fought on your soil without

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being left with a serious mess on your hands. [Man with muddy hands]

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So to help rebuild from their occupation, France decided to squeeze the African lands

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they were currently occupying. [France squeezing Africa]

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For France’s African colonies, this final squeeze was the one that…broke the baguette.

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General strikes fired up across West Africa in 1947 and kept on blazing for a decade. [Explosion appears in West Africa]

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Starting in 1954, Algerian communist rebels clashed with police.

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And it got bloody.

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Both rebels and police even set off homemade bombs in civilian areas. [Bomb explodes]

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Mini-rebellions broke out in Cameroon and Mali.

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But the French army stamped them out with concentration camps and targeted assassinations. [French Army removes Cameroon and Mali soldiers]

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Still, these rebellions were a major wake-up call for France.

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The flag of the Algerian Communist Party had the word…pain

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…on it, which means…bread.

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It’s kind of a giveaway that your colonial government is failing if one of the rebels’ [Waiter gives IOU to customer]

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key promises is… actually feeding people.

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In the end, France decided to break up with its colonies…or, more accurately, decided

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to let them break up with France.

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By popular election, a man named Charles De Gaulle became President in 1959. [Charles saluting]

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De Gaulle was a lefty politician who had previously served as commander-in-chief of the Free French

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forces.

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Maybe feeling grateful for the sacrifices of the Free French Africans, or perhaps just

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wanting to avoid another war, De Gaulle drew up plans to let West Africa go free.

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It was like a freedom free-for all.

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Mali…

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Cameroon…

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Togo…

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Senegal…

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Benin…

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Niger…

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Chad…

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The Ivory Coast…

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All became independent in 1960 and 1961, almost entirely without bloodshed or conflict. [African cities highlighted on map]

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The French were definitely not total saints while this was going down.

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They did jerky stuff… like loot all government buildings and take key infrastructure assets, [French looting government buildings]

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such as power generators, on their way out.

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But on the whole, this process was much healthier for everyone than violent rebellions. [Doctor in consultation with patient]

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Imagine that…

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