 Within the "pied-noir" community, there was always in the words of the British historian Martin Evans a "siege mentality" where the "colons" saw themselves as surrounded by a hostile Muslim population that was perpetually ready to massacre them at the first chance.The Muslim population of Algeria, whether Arab or Berber, were treated as second-class citizens and despite the fact that Algeria was considered an integral part of France were not allowed to vote.Even after the Muslim population was given the right to vote in 1944, many Muslims complained of widespread discrimination with the electoral districts gerrymandered to ensure the Pied Noirs held the majority of the seats despite being a minority.