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RésuméL’itinéraire politique de Joseph Begarra (1908-1997) est intrinsèquement lié à la forme impériale de la vie politique française jusqu’en 1962. Instituteur né à Oran, d’abord modeste militant du Parti socialiste, il accède au niveau national à travers les institutions de la France coloniale, en particulier l’Assemblée de l’Union française. Il devient, au Parti socialiste, un expert des questions algériennes, et tient un rôle de première importance pendant la guerre d’Algérie, sous le gouvernement Guy Mollet.

Joseph Begarra, a Socialist Leader in French Algeria? Political Networks and Careers in colonial FranceThe paper examines the political career of Joseph Begarra (1908-1997), giving evidence of the imperial form of the French political life until 1962. Whereas he began as a simple activist in his native city of Oran, in Western Algeria, he could reach the national level of power through the colonial institutions of France, such as the Assembly of the French Union. Within the Socialist Party, he became an expert on colonial issues, especially after Guy Mollet’s empowerment, during the Algerian war.