In March 2003, the United States and Great Britain invaded Iraq to put an end to the regime of Saddam Hussein. The war was launched without a United Nations mandate and was based on the erroneous claim that Iraq had retained weapons of mass destruction. France, under President Jacques Chirac and Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, spectacularly opposed the United States and British invasion, leading a global coalition against the war that also included Germany and Russia. The diplomatic crisis leading up to the war shook both French and American perceptions of each other and revealed crack.

Translated from the French.

From one war to another : 1991-2001 -- Bush 43 and September 11 : January-December 2001 -- The axis of evil : January-September 2002 -- The negotiations : September-December 2002 -- The rupture : January 2003 -- The confrontation : February 2003 -- The war : spring-summer 2003 -- Epilogue : reconciliation, 2003-2007.