La estrategia exterior de Castiella vista desde Francia

Abstract

This article analyses the French point of view on the Spanish foreign policy under minister of Foreign Affairs Fernando María Castiella, between 1957 and 1969. The restrictions on the type of sources that we can use lead us to prefer the analysis of the vision of the French government on the Spanish foreign policy. This government was constantly informed on the developments of this policy by the French ambassador at Madrid and the rest of the French diplomats in Spain. These diplomats sensibly evaluated the historical evolution of the Spanish foreign policy and the features of Castiella´s new strategy, with its double face of prestige aims and practical aims. Their insightful and realist dispatches allowed the French government to develop a good understanding of the Spanish foreign policy, what undoubtedly helped the Spanish-French rapprochement of the sixties.