What is "harki"

Harki (adjective from the Arabic harka, standard Arabic haraka حركة, "war party" or "movement", i.e., a group of volunteers, especially soldiers) is the generic term for Muslim Algerian loyalists who served as Auxiliaries in the French Army during the Algerian War from 1954 to 1962. The phrase sometimes is applied to all Algerian Muslims who supported the French presence in Algeria during this war.

In France, the term is used to designate the Franco-musulmans rapatriés ("repatriated French Muslims") community living in the country since 1962, and its metropolitan-born descendants. In this sense, the term Harki now refers to a distinct ethnocultural group, i.e. French Muslims of Algerian Descent, distinct from other French of Algerian origin or Algerians living in France.

As of 2012, the Harkis and their descendants represent around 800,000 people in France.

President Jacques Chirac established 25 September 2001 as the Day of National Recognition for the Harkis. On 14 April 2012, President Nicolas Sarkozy recognized France's "historical responsibility" in abandoning Harki Algerian veterans at the time of the war.