Algeria is an interresting case because it was a colony but considered as french region/soil
The war 1954-62 at that time was not considered as a war but as a law enforcement operation against terrorim or a pacification operation.
In a way, using gendarme allow france to have military operation but not declare it as a war.
Unfortunately, blurrying this line have also created deviant behaviour like using torture on an industrial scale to counter guerilla/terrorist acts.