In January 2026, at the initiative and with the valuable support of the Souvenir Français, AFCEA produced the exhibition “France and NATO” (“La France et l’OTAN”): sixteen panels to understand France’s unique place in the Atlantic Alliance, from 1948 to the present day.
Exhibition cover 
Panel 1 – From the Western Union to the Atlantic Pact 
Panel 2 – The Washington Treaty, NATO’s founding act 
Panel 3 – The politico-strategic mechanics of the Treaty 
Panel 4 – From the Palais de Chaillot to Porte Dauphine: France, home of NATO 
Panel 5 – French commitment and Allied presence until 1966 
Panel 6 – 1966: France leaves the integrated command but stays in the Alliance 
Panel 7 – 2009: France returns to the integrated command 
Panel 8 – NATO, an organisation in constant reform 
Panel 9 – NATO, a politico-military organisation: the political side 
Panel 10 – NATO, a politico-military organisation: the military side 
Panel 11 – A nuclear Alliance 
Panel 12 – NATO in operations 
Panel 13 – NATO enlargement 
Panel 14 – NATO and the European Union 
Panel 15 – 2026: what future for NATO? 
Panel 16 – Acknowledgements and further reading
Use the arrows to scroll through the exhibition’s seventeen panels (in French).
A journey in sixteen panels
- From the Western Union to the Atlantic Pact
- The Washington Treaty, NATO’s founding act
- The politico-strategic mechanics of the Treaty
- From the Palais de Chaillot to Porte Dauphine: France, home of NATO
- French commitment and Allied presence until 1966
- 1966: France leaves the integrated command but stays in the Alliance
- 2009: France returns to the integrated command
- NATO, an organisation in constant reform
- NATO, a politico-military organisation: the political side
- NATO, a politico-military organisation: the military side
- A nuclear Alliance
- NATO in operations
- NATO enlargement
- NATO and the European Union
- 2026: what future for NATO?
- Acknowledgements and further reading
The texts were written by AFCEA members, based on NATO documents and available academic resources. The exhibition has since accompanied our activities, notably the “NATO in Action” crisis simulation exercise on 28 and 29 May 2026.
To continue the visit
The exhibition is accompanied by a special issue of the Souvenir Français newsletter and an episode of the podcast “Passeurs d’histoire” devoted to General Beaufre, with General Hervé Pierre, author of Le général Beaufre, père de la stratégie française (Perrin / French Ministry of the Armed Forces, 2025).
Our reference reading (in French):
- Jenny Raflik-Grenouilleau, La IVe République et l’Alliance atlantique. Influence et dépendance (1945-1958), Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2013.
- Maurice Vaïsse, Pierre Mélandri and Frédéric Bozo (eds.), La France et l’OTAN, 1949-1996, Éditions Complexe, 1996.
- Olivier Forcade (ed.), La France et l’OTAN depuis 1989, Sorbonne Université Presses, 2023.
- Amélie Zima, L’OTAN, “Que sais-je ?” series, 2nd edition, 2023.
Unless otherwise stated, the images on the panels come from the NATO archives and ECPAD / Images Défense – French Ministry of the Armed Forces. All rights reserved: NATO. Design: Triways – DIX.
Would you like to use this exhibition or host it in your institution or town? Contact us.
This article was translated from French by Claude (AI). In case of any discrepancy, the French version prevails.
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