Paris Decree Reaffirms French Citizenship for Algerian Jews

In a new decree published here today, the French Government officially re-confirmed the Cremieux Decree of 1870 under which all Algerian Jews whose ancestors had taken advantage of that older document are now “automatically French citizens with full rights.”

The over whelming majority of the Algerian Jewish refugees fall into that category under the Cremieux Decree as re-confirmed here today by the Ministry for Public Health and Population. According to today’s reinterpretation of the decree, French nationality will not be lost even by those Algerian Jews who choose to become citizens of Algeria.

France has also decided, it became known today, to grant some assistance to those Algerian Frenchmen–which include Jews–who decide to emigrate and settle outside French territory. Such emigrants will be given $10 a month while waiting for their emigration visas, to enable them to study the language of the country to which they intend to go.

The Government of France will also “participate” in paying transportation costs and will further give such emigrants small subsidies during the first few months in their new homes. It is believed, however, that few Algerian Jews will take advantage of these aids.

Many Algerian Jews in this country now were hard hit by a new decree issued by the Algerian Government in Algiers, forbidding the removal from that country of furniture and other private belongings “unless the owner is effectively in Algeria.” That means that many of the refugees here, who abandoned all their possessions when they left Algeria abruptly last summer, will lose their movable properties. Several thousand Algerian Jewish families in France will be affected by this new ruling.