Mathematician Pierre Audin died of cancer on Sunday May 28 at the age of 66, the Josette association announced in a press release.
“It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our friend Pierre Audin,” the association announced. Pierre's life "will have been devoted to the incessant fight, alongside his mother Josette, for the whole truth to be told about the circumstances of his father's disappearance", she still greeted.
His father, Maurice Audin, a mathematician, communist and anti-colonial activist suspected of being linked to the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN), was arrested by the French army on the night of June 11, 1957, in the middle of the war. Algeria (1954-1962). His body has never been found.
In a memorial gesture, French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged in September 2018 "on behalf of the French Republic" that the young mathematician had been "tortured to death, or tortured and then executed by the French army" in 1957. He had also asked "forgiveness" to Josette Audin, his widow, who has since disappeared.
Since 2018, Mr. Macron has also acknowledged the responsibility of the French army in the death of nationalist lawyer Ali Boumendjel during the battle of Algiers, a stele has been erected in France in memory of Abdelkader, Algerian national hero of the fight against French colonization, and the skulls of Algerian resistance fighters from the 19th century returned to Algeria.
In December 2021, France opened its archives on the Algerian war to "face the truth". Despite these gestures, the memorial file remains a source of recurring tension between Paris and Algiers.
Pierre Audin, mathematician, like his father, had obtained "a little over a year ago (an) Algerian passport", according to the Foundation. "He actively participated in the creation of the Maurice Audin Mathematics Prize and its maintenance, against all odds, over the years", a vehicle prize for "Franco-Algerian cooperation", from the same source.
