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During the summer of 2007, breaking from diplomacy of the past four years, the French government endorsed sanctions against Iran outside of the UN Security Council’s framework on nuclear non-proliferation. This paper explains this change in France’s position by examining the national configuration that produced this policy. The empirical investigation identifies a major split within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between the diplomats in charge of bilateral relations with Iran and non-proliferation specialists. The latter can rely on a “non-proliferation community” within and at the margins of state apparatus in order to conceive Iran’s nuclear program as a problem. In addition, they benefit from the election of a president who intends to show support for US policy. However, the study of international alliances leads us to adopt a non-decisionist perspective about foreign policy.