Editing History of France (section)

=== Suez crisis (1956) ===
{{Main|Suez crisis}}
[[File:Port Said from air.jpg|thumb|Smoke rises from oil tanks beside the Suez Canal hit during the initial Anglo-French assault on [[Port Said]], 5 November 1956.]]
In 1956, another crisis struck French colonies, this time in Egypt. The Suez Canal, having been built by the French government, belonged to the French Republic and was operated by the [[Suez Canal Company|Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez]]. Great Britain had bought the Egyptian share from [[Isma'il Pasha]] and was the second-largest owner of the canal before the crisis.

The Egyptian President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] nationalized the canal despite French and British opposition; he determined that a European response was unlikely. Great Britain and France attacked Egypt and built an alliance with Israel against Nasser. Israel attacked from the east, Britain from Cyprus and France from Algeria. Egypt was defeated in a mere few days. The Suez crisis caused an outcry of indignation in the Arab world, and Saudi Arabia set an embargo on oil on France and Britain. U.S. President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] forced a ceasefire; Britain and Israel soon withdrew, leaving France alone in Egypt. Under strong international pressures, the French government ultimately evacuated its troops from Suez and largely disengaged from the Middle East.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gorst |first1=Anthony |title=The Suez Crisis |last2=Johnman |first2=Lewis |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-1350-9728-8 |location=London |name-list-style=amp}}</ref>