Le Foudroyage
A former primary teacher, André Stil began his career as a writer in the Surrealist milieu.
Resistant, eminent member of the Communist Party and journalist, he made a reputation as a realist writer.
Published in 1960 by Éditeurs français réunis, Le Foudroyage explores the Algerian war through the eyes of two brothers facing the conflict: one an officer caught up in the horrors of the front, the other who remained in a mining community in the north of France.
Without any official notice of motivation, several dozen copies of the book were seized in April 1960.
The Ministry of Justice considered Le Foudroyage offensive to the honour of the army, but they also feared the publicity a condemnation might attract.
The government gave in a few weeks later when faced with protests from the lawyer Léon Matarrasso and other intellectuals.