ABSTRACT
Relations between France and the Greek Colonels’ regime between 1967 and 1974 are an indicative example of French diplomatic practice, based on the recognition of states rather than of governments. It is this that allowed France to continue almost normal diplomatic relations with the regime of the Colonels. Contrary to the attitude of the French public opinion, always hostile to the dictatorship, successive French Presidents (De Gaulle, Pompidou, Giscard d’Estaing) did not disrupt relations with Greece, which continued to grow in the economic field as well. The turning point came under Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, who favoured the return of democracy to Greece and its integration into Europe.
