The oil crisis in autumn 1973 is considered to be the decisive turning point in the 1970s. It painfully demonstrated the dependence of the western industrialized countries on Arab oil. Using the example of Franco-German relations, the author asks whether there was cooperation in energy policy and how this was actually structured. On the one hand, using historical primary sources, she examines the behavior and political strategies of the German and French governments. On the other hand, the search for multilateral solutions is presented. Case studies provide insights into the civil society level. This first systematic analysis of Franco-German relations in the field of energy policy shows that energy policy was of great importance for the bilateral relationship, even if the results of Franco-German cooperation remained extremely low.