Black Feet, Gauchos, and Cowboys

In 1954 there were nearly 984,000 pieds-noirs (black feet) as those individuals of European descent born on Algerian soil were called. In France, during the immediate post-war years, pieds-noirs were relegated to second-class citizen status, different from the "true" French. Yet, it was the black boots of 19th century "true" French troops which spawned this once abusive epithet. I am fortunate to bear this moniker which I share with a Nobel laureate existentialist philosopher, the president of the major French airline, a middleweight champion of the world and a world-renown fashion designer. One out of seven pieds-noirs also happened to be Jewish, my family included.A certain nostalgia, or "nostalgerie" is woven into the fabric of the pied-noir psyche. During and after the war the pieds-noirs scattered in all directions. Armed only with the instinct to survive, intensified by years of anguish, uncertainty, and turmoil, they triumphed against overwhelming odds and achieved a greater degree of success than they would otherwise, had life not been derailed by the madness which had besieged them.