Editing Suez Crisis (section)

==== France and Egypt's support for Algerian rebels ====
{{See also|Algerian War}}
Over the same period, the French Premier [[Guy Mollet]] was facing an increasingly serious rebellion in [[Algeria]], where the Algerian [[National Liberation Front (Algeria)|National Liberation Front (FLN)]] rebels were being verbally supported by Egypt via transmissions of the [[Voice of the Arabs]] radio, financially supported with Suez Canal revenue<ref>p. 102 Alexander, Anne ''Nasser'' Haus Publishing, 1 Sep 2005</ref> and clandestinely owned Egyptian ships were shipping arms to the FLN.<ref>Sirrs, Owen L. ''The Egyptian Intelligence Service: A History of the Mukhabarat, 1910–2009'' Routledge, 25 Feb 2010</ref> Mollet came to perceive Nasser as a major threat.<ref name="Kyle, Keith, p. 115">{{Harvnb|Kyle|2003|p=115}}</ref> During a visit to London in March 1956, Mollet told Eden his country was faced with an Islamic threat to the very soul of France supported by the Soviet Union.<ref name="Kyle, Keith, p. 115"/> Mollet stated: "All this is in the works of Nasser, just as Hitler's policy was written down in ''[[Mein Kampf]]''. Nasser has the ambition to recreate the [[Spread of Islam|conquests of Islam]]. But his present position is largely due to the policy of the West in building up and flattering him".<ref name="Kyle, Keith, p. 115"/>

In a May 1956 gathering of French veterans, [[Louis Mangin]] spoke in place of the unavailable Minister of Defence and gave a violently anti-Nasser speech, which compared the Egyptian leader to Hitler. He accused Nasser of plotting to rule the entire Middle East and of seeking to annex Algeria, whose "people live in community with France".<ref>{{Harvnb|Kyle|2003|pp=116–117}}</ref> Mangin urged France to stand up to Nasser, and being a strong friend of Israel, urged an alliance with that nation against Egypt.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kyle|2003|p=117}}</ref>