France, Nov. 6 -- Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal in July 1956, bringing it under state control. The invasion followed three months later.

Historian Franck Mazuet explores the crisis in an episode of Boîte Noire (Black Box), a series from France's National Audiovisual Institute (INA) and the educational platform Lumni Enseignement.

In the seven-minute episode 1956, The Suez Canal Affair, Mazuet examines footage of the failed invasion that French authorities kept off cinema screens, revealing how news coverage was censored to protect France's image.

It draws on material left out by Actualites Francaises (French News), a state-controlled company that produced newsreels - filmed news reports shown in ci...