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Linking the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, Africa and Asia, the Suez Canal is a major pathway for the control of the Middle East. During the 20th century, it was one of the maritime routes that brought to the fore the most passions, geopolitical conflicts and economic stakes internationally and regionally. During the two world wars, it became essential to the mastery of the Mediterranean. From the 1950s to the 1970s, it concentrated regional tensions both as a symbol of decolonization in a Cold War context and a military front in the Arab-Israeli wars. Finally, the Suez Canal represents a prime factor for the stability of Egypt, on the one hand, as an emblem of its political restoration and economic independence, on the other, as a focus of tension in an area dominated by oil issues and faced with risks of terrorism and piracy.