L’Italia e i «capricci francesi»: la lunga storia di una fabbrica di cartucce in Marocco (1957-1961)

Abstract

Although of relative objective importance, the complex affair of the Italian cartridge factory in Morocco highlights, on the one hand, Paris’ ability to effectively manipulate the war in Algeria to safeguard its interests in the Maghreb, and on the other, Italy’s cautious approach in translating ‘neo-Atlantic’ orientations into actions. This caution was necessary to avoid worsening the French crisis, which could have dangerous consequences for bilateral relations as well as for the delicate European and Atlantic dynamics. In fact, it was only in 1961, at the end of the Algerian conflict and in a different political context from that of 1957 when the issue first arose, that it could finally be resolved.