Soustelle Plan
Open-knowledge reference entry
The Soustelle Plan was a reform program envisioned by Jacques Soustelle, then governor general of Algeria, for the improvement of several administrative, political, social and economic works which emphasized the integration of Muslim Algerians within the French system. The plan was proposed to the French government in June 1955 but was never fully implemented.
The proposal
Soustelle’s first concern for the implementation of his plan was to inject funds into the Algerian economy for small improvement projects designed to have an immediate effect. After a short struggle with the finance ministry in Paris, an allocation of 4,300 million francs was obtained. Thereafter, Soustelle engaged in social-political reforms by sending out a circular, making it compulsory on all persons in authority to pursue a "policy of consideration and confidence".
His intention was to eradicate the superiority complex which the European population had adopted in terms of discrimination and condescension towards the Arab-Algerian populace. Third, Soustelle took into consideration the agricultural situation of Algeria as this was the primary source of revenue for the country. However, there were several obstacles; erosion had claimed 100,000 acres (400 km2) per year.
To meet the challenge of the countryside, Soustelle administered an agency with wide powers to acquire public and private land for redistribution to Muslim peasants and to secure land beneficiaries with the technical and financial assistance which could improve these new holdings. He also expanded the existing facilities such as the Provident Societies and Rural Improvement Sectors and also abolished the cultural phenomenon of khammessat, a sharecropping system under which the tenant got one fifth of the crop and the landowner four-fifths.
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