François Mitterrand, then president of France, went even further and floated the idea a Franco-Soviet military alliance to resist German unity.

However, during his term as Premier a number of important pacts were negotiated - the Franco-Italian Agreement, the Stresa Front and the Franco-soviet pact.

Franco-Soviet relations were initially hostile because the USSR officially opposed the World War I peace settlement of 1919 that France emphatically championed.

Since 1967, Franco-Soviet space co-operation (between CNES and Intercosmos) has proceeded smoothly, whereas French-US co-operation has had more downs than ups, with CNES resentment at some NASA attitudes of superiority becoming a mutually reinforcing vicious circle.