The breakdown of Franco-Saudi diplomatic relations was officially recorded on 6 November 1956. A decision taken by the sovereign Al Saud (1953-1964) following the tripartite attack by France, Great Britain and Israel in Sinai, following the nationalisation of the Suez Canal by Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser. But while Saudi Arabia breaks with its French ally in solidarity with its Egyptian partner, the nature of their relationship is quite unofficial. In the trough of contacts between ministers, diplomats and field officers: military contracts, bilateral meetings and the continuation of a privileged economic relationship between France and Saudi Arabia. Indeed, the former tries to regain international legitimacy by approaching the countries of the Middle East and the second seeks to consolidate its state infrastructure by drawing on the expertise of its Western allies. Although France is experiencing difficulties in adapting to the political and trade codes of the Saudians, it is in the western trio which the Kingdom requests with a view to strengthening its military power. Despite the British veto at the Near East Arms Coordinating Committee (Near East Arms Coordinating Committee) on the sale of French weapons to the Saudis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is increasing its attempts to satisfy the wishes of Emir Mechal, the Saudi Minister of Defence, particularly in offensive weapons. Furthermore, while Saudi Arabia condemns the French policy of repression in Algeria and North Africa on the international stage, both countries continue to communicate in the shadow of their breakdown until their relations resume on 13 September 1962. This memory comes back both to events in the margins of the official breakdown, which are reflected in the archives of Courneuve, Nantes, the Historical Defence Service, the Senate, the Bank of Indochine and KEW, but also to the start of Franco-Saudi diplomatic relations. According to French and Anglo-Saxon historiography, the latter did not start until 1967, the year of Fayçal’s visit to Paris, but also of the absence of an oil embargo against the Saudis by General de Gaulle. However, in the diplomatic archives, projects common to both countries were found in the 1950s. For example, the establishment of a Franco-Saudi military city in 1953 on Saudi soil in Khardj, whose contract was signed by Emir Méchal and signed in 1950. An initiative that structures a political-military relationship that is preserved during the breakdown of official relations. France is not only a ‘compensation partner’ in accordance with the formula of former Saudi Ambassador Faisal Al-Mejfel, but a political and military interlocutor with great potential for the Saudis. This memory therefore seeks to rehabilitate the chronology of Franco-Saudi diplomatic relations in the 1950s, to analyse the nature of their relations which deteriorated since 1955, the breakdown of diplomatic relations and the unofficial contacts which continued between the two countries until the resumption of dialogue following the Evian agreements, and finally a strengthening of the military tandem when the Khardj city was restored in 1965.