 Increasingly many Algerian Muslims started to reach the conclusion that the French would never allow them real equality, and the solution was independence for Algeria.By mid-20th century, the "pied-noir" families had been living in Algeria for over a century, and for them Algeria was the only home they had ever known; the place they had been born in, grew up and where they planned to spend the rest of their lives.For the "colons", the possibility of Algerian independence was regarded with horror as they feared what their fate would be under Muslim rule.