On 22 October 1956, French forces hijacked a Moroccan civilian aircraft carrying leaders of the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) during the ongoing Algerian War. The Douglas DC-3 belonging to Royal Air Maroc was carrying Ahmed Ben Bella, Hocine Aït Ahmed, Mohamed Boudiaf, Mostefa Lacheraf, and Mohamed Khider. It was destined to leave from Palma de Mallorca for Tunis where the FLN leaders were to conference with Prime Minister Habib Bourguiba, but French forces intercepted the civilian aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea and redirected the flight to occupied Algiers, where the FLN leaders were arrested, derailing the planned conference in Tunis. It's considered one of the most important events in the Algerian War.

The Algerian War was a major armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria winning its independence from France. An important decolonization war, it was a complex conflict characterized by guerrilla warfare and war crimes. The conflict also became a civil war between the different communities and within the communities. The war took place mainly on the territory of Algeria, with repercussions in metropolitan France.