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The 1936 Treaty of Alliance between France and Lebanon, desired by both parties, was intended to take over from the Mandatory relationship. Although it was ratified by the Lebanese Chamber, it was not ratified by the French. Our aim here is to show that this failure, which is generally attributed to the conservative reaction that followed the Popular Front in 1938, can in fact be traced back to the government’s response to Turkish claims over the Sandjak of Alexandrette in December 1936, and the following six months, during which the government did not submit the treaty to Parliament. We emphasise the tension that arose very early on between the plurality, both internal and external, of the players involved and the bilateral nature of the treaty. In addition to the international situation, because of their role in the region, the eighteen legally recognised Lebanese communities were in competition with the central government, while Turkey, the Jewish Agency for Palestine and the British authorities interested in the security of the Eastern Mediterranean wanted the treaty to be harmonised with their own imperatives.