In the city of Guelma, which was once called Heliopolis in ancient times, the daily life of an Algerian family takes its usual course. But on May 8, 1945, the day the end of World War II was announced, demonstrations by the Algerian people against the French colonial power and for the country's independence took place, which were bloodily suppressed by the French army and French settler militias. The event went down in history as the Sétif and Guelma massacre.

Heliopolis

We are in 1958, in a country at war, on the eve of De Gaulle's visit. The city of Constantine has just been struck by horrible news: that of the assassination of the musician Mohamed Salah Benmessebah.