ABSTRACT
Even though the conditions for close cooperation between France and Israel altered signicantly in the years 1963 to 1966, there was no momentous change in relations between the two countries in this period. By contrast, according to many commentators the Six Day War – which broke out in June 1967 – constituted a turning point in this relationship. This dramatic change was characterised by a number of features:
First and foremost, on the eve of the war the French placed an embargo on the sale of weapons to “the belligerent countries” – clearly this was directed mainly against Israel – shaking one of the foundations of the relationship with Israel. Although France secretly continued to supply Israel with parts for French equipment purchased in the past, this was not suf- cient to change the revolutionary nature of the embargo decision. The most tangible aspect of French support for the Jewish state had always been the country’s willingness to serve as Israel’s main weapons supplier, even during the return to the Arab world. Indeed, in the years preceding the Six Day War France repeatedly assured the Israelis that this continued military aid was overwhelming proof of the consistency of French policy, in spite of any changes in outward appearance. French readiness to provide Israel with arms was thus the most manifest and overt sign of friendship between the two countries. Yet in the years preceding 1967 France began to voice claims to Arab statesmen that this provision of weapons was solely commercial in nature. These covert statements suited the two different voices of the dual policy. Thus France’s refusal to provide Israel with weapons in 1967 constituted one of the most evident changes in French Middle Eastern policy following the Six Day War.
