How do we, as human beings, live through a cataclysm? How are our beliefs and faith radically changed while facing events that are uncontrollable, out of our reach, and with the potential to destroy us?

In L'énigme algérienne, Xavier Driencourt, the French diplomat who stayed in Algeria for the longest time, offers a precise, sharp, and clever analysis of the complex French-Algerian diplomatic and political relations.