The Battle of Algiers ending explained

What happens

The army blows up Ali la Pointe's hideout in the Casbah, killing him and seemingly crushing the FLN. Two years later, crowds with no leaders flood the streets of Algiers, showing the movement has outlived its organisation.

The last image

Huge crowds fill the streets of Algiers in 1960, shot like a news crew's footage, with no leaders in view.

What it says

The French win every battle yet lose the political question. The camera moves from leaders to the crowd because the film argues that force can destroy an organisation, but not a people's will to be free.