Abstract
The Old Alliance between Scotland and France, better known under the name of the 'Auld Alliance', is unique in the history of the two nations as it doesn't have an equivalent in terms of duration or intensity. This alliance is the source of the Franco-Scottish connection from 1295 to 1746. Primarily, it was a military and diplomatic alliance, but most of the population benefited from this situation in a cultural context, and thus shows how several centuries of contact have shaped the development of the two countries. In his famous speech made in Edinburgh on the 23rd of June 1942, General de Gaulle spoke of the Auld Alliance in these terms, 'over the last five centuries, whenever the destiny of France was in the balance, Scots were always there to fight alongside their French ally'. Behind this speech, hides long periods of war which united the two countries against their common enemy, England. And as an old political commentator said, "Stand well with your neighbour, but better with your neighbour's neighbour". This approach reflects the aim of the alliance, based on a treaty which allowed that if one of the two states was attacked by England, the other would invade England.
