The war in Algeria was and remains a sensitive subject for France, the events were only first openly officially identified as a war in 1999. The Médaille Coloniale or Médaille d'Outre-Mer were for service overseas and the Croix de Guerre was for service in wartime against an exterior enemy. There was no award at the time to recognize and reward combat service on what was essentially French soil. A medal was initially created by decree 56-1032 of 12 October 1956 and called the Médaille Commémorative des Opérations de Sécurité et de Maintien de l'Ordre en Afrique du Nord. It was designed to fill this void and recognize their service in what was officially called a "police action" to quell disorder, rather than a military campaign against an armed and organized enemy. Decree 58-24 of 11 January 1958 modified the design and renamed the award to "Médaille Commémorative des Opérations de Sécurité et de Maintien de l'Ordre". Under pressure for years by veterans' organizations and from the personnel who served during the handovers in Tunisia and Morocco to get commemorative medals of their own, the French government finally ceded by a decree dated 26 July 2004 with an amendment to the 1958 decree governing the award. Rather than design a new medal for each operation in North Africa, the government decided to extend the eligibility, the existing medal could then be awarded to anyone who had served in North Africa during the 1950s and 1960s.
Award statute
The North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal was awarded to:
members of the French armed forces for 90 days or more service in security and order operations in regular or reserve formations. The time factor is waived for those cited with the Cross for Military Valour or wounded as a result of these operations;
governmental civil servants and of police services as well as those personnel placed under the authority of the military authority, or that participated in the operations proper as a result of their responsibilities or specialty, that met the aforementioned military prerequisites;
sailors of the French navy placed under the orders of the IV region's naval prefect for missions of at least 90 days in a 24-month period.
Five different gilt clasps could be earned and worn simultaneously when awarded.
MAROC for 90 days service between 1 June 1953 and 2 July 1962
SAHARA for 90 days service between 31 October 1954 and 27 June 1961
MAURITANIE for 90 days service between 10 January 1957 and 1 January 1960
Award description
North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal is a 30mm in diameter circular medal struck from bronze and gilded. The obverse, engraved by Georges Lemaire, bore an allegorical image of the warriorFrench Republic wearing a helmet adorned with and oak leaf wreath and surrounded by the relief inscription along the medal circumference "RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE". On the reverse, the relief inscription on five lines "MÉDAILLE" "COMMÉMORATIVE" "OPÉRATIONS SÉCURITÉ" "ET MAINTIEN" "DE L'ORDRE" surrounded by a wreath of oak and olive leaves along the medal circumference. The pre January 1958 variant had the reverse inscription on four lines "MÉDAILLE" "COMMÉMORATIVE" "D'AFRIQUE" "DU NORD". The medal hung from a ribbon passing through a wreath shaped ring through the medal's suspension loop. The red silk moiré ribbon was 36mm wide with a 14mm central light blue stripe and two 5mm wide white stripes each 1mm from the edge.
