In the aftermath of the putsch a public opinion poll indicated that now only twenty-four per cent of Frenchmen were confident they could "trust" their army. In Algeria the sense of let-down among the pieds noirs who had tacitly hoped for Challe's success was naturally enough immense. A gaping vacuum was left, which, in their despair, something grim and terrifying would have to fill.

XREF: Parallels with trust collapse following recent failed insurrection attempts in democratic states, where institutions' credibility suffers alongside the plotters.

Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Alge…, loc. 1406