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In 1930, the French colonial authorities celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the conquest of Algeria. Running contrary to the triumphalist speeches of the “Algerian Centennial,” which proclaimed the unmitigated support of the Algerian people for the French administration, the contemporary rumors that were circulating in the countryside revealed the strong hostility of rural populations towards their colonizers. At a time when the Algerian elites continued to cautiously formulate their demands without ever challenging the framework of the colonial system, a different segment of the population seemed to be driven by much more radical political beliefs when expressing their desire to see Algeria get out from under the French yoke.