 Youcef and Tobbal wanted to create a situation to polarize the Muslim community between those who supported the French and those supported the FLN, and to discredit the moderates who still believed that if Paris changed its policies the Muslims could become full French citizens.The Philippeville region had been chosen because tensions between the Muslims and "pied-noirs" were especially intense in the area which was well known in Algeria as a hotbed of ethnic and religious hatred and because many Muslims had lost family members during the Sétif and Guelma massacre of 8 May 1945 in the adjuring Constantine "department".Aussaresses was surprised by a set of attacks the FLN launched on June 18, 1955, which his intelligence unit had not heard anything about beforehand.