Historically, Western powers have played a fundamental role in supporting the establishment of Israel and ensuring its survival on the international stage. However, the dynamics of their relations with Israel have never followed a fixed, linear trajectory; instead, they have undergone significant transformations over time. A notable example is the complex relationship between France and Israel. Initially, France showed little interest in the Zionist idea and did not adopt a favourable stance toward the establishment of the Israeli regime. Yet, within a short period-beginning in the early 1950s-France became Israel’s most important Western supporter. This position was tested once again in the mid-1960s, after which Paris transformed into the key Western ally of Arab states for several decades. Despite a history of shifting relations between Western powers (including France) and Israel, the dominant leftist perspective assumes these ties to be immutable, interpreting them through a fixed framework-that of an imperialist power and its regional proxy. This hypothesis is critically examined in the present study through a central research question: ‘How do the historical transformations in Franco-Israeli relations correspond to the notion of an imperialist relationship—one between a core imperialist power and its regional outpost?’ The findings of this case study, grounded in historical analysis, demonstrate that the realities of these relations poorly align with-and ultimately undermine-the reliability of the leftist theoretical framework.