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On the basis of research in French and Hungarian archives and at NATO’s International Staff (Brussels), we came to the following conclusions : French diplomacy had accurate information about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Its responses were largely dictated by both long-term factors – a European status quo dominated by the United States and the Soviet Union, and the Algerian War. In the short time, the Suez Crisis had a considerable effect. Driven by these considerations, the Quai d’Orsay reacted to the Hungarian events with extreme caution, seeking to avoid any hint of direct intervention. Its action thus was limited to speeches at the United Nations and to participation in the humanitarian programmes to aid Hungarian refugees as well as to relieve distress in Hungary. After progressively improving in the earlier period of détente, Franco-Hungarian diplomatic relations were reduced to a protocolary minimum after the suppression of the revolution by the USSR in November 1956. However, in autumn 1958, bilateral relations were essentially normalized.