By the end of 1959, as Yves Courrière remarks: “Challe had confidence in Massu, who had confidence in Argoud, who had confidence in Ortiz. Delouvrier was perhaps the only one to have confidence in no one at all!” Moreover, he was not well. An old automobile injury had left him with a badly knitted femur and Delouvrier had had to have it re-set. By the second week in January he had just returned from convalescing in the desert but was still on crutches.

Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Alge…, loc. 1085