Papon oversaw the repression during the Paris massacre of 1961: on 17 October 1961, a large ostensibly-peaceful march, organised by the Algerian National Liberation Front, broke a curfew that had been "advised" by Papon because of concerns on the group's sponsoring of a series of bombings throughout France. The police arrested 11,000 persons, who claimed that it was simply because of their appearance.