section_path: From confrontation to détente (1962–1979)/French withdrawal from NATO military structures
section_name: French withdrawal from NATO military structures
paragraph_text: French withdrawal from NATO military structures
  
  The unity of NATO was breached early in its history, with a crisis occurring during Charles de Gaulle 's presidency of France. De Gaulle protested at the strong role of the United States in the organization and what he perceived as a special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. In a memorandum sent to President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan on 17 September 1958, he argued for the creation of a tripartite directorate that would put France on an equal footing with the United States and the United Kingdom, and also for the expansion of NATO's coverage to include geographical areas of interest to France, most notably French Algeria, where France was waging a counter-insurgency and sought NATO assistance. De Gaulle considered the response he received to be unsatisfactory and began the development of an independent French nuclear deterrent. In 1966, he withdrew France from NATO's military structures and expelled NATO troops from French soil.