The present leaders in the Third World are mainly drawn from élites who, in one way or another, were the product of the colonial era. Algeria, of course, is no exception. Although she was always part of the Arab world, French rule, to which she was subjected for more than a century, left a strong impact. One of the results of the colonial era in Algeria was the rise, in the late nineteenth century, of a French-educated elite who tried, despite their limited number, to find a formula by which the native and colonial societies could live together harmoniously. The purpose of this short study is to trace the origins of these Algerians who, without doubt, were among the pioneers of these élites in Africa.