on may 8 1945, shortly after the end of the world war ii, algerian civilians organised a demonstration in which they demanded independence. the demonstrations turned into a bloodbath. the protesters killed more than 100 european settlers. the french army killed at least 6,000 and 50,000 algerian civilians (estimates vary widely). john p. entelis estimated the number of algerians civilians killed by the suppression of the riots as 15,000.