A new round of diplomacy to state Egypt's case, particularly in the West and the Far East, ensued, and arms supplies were requested from France and Britain. With the announcement on 2 August 1972 of Egypt's plan to merge with Libya, France stated that supplies of Mirage fighters to Libya, would continue, since Libya was not in direct conflict with Israel....
Egypt and Libya had agreed a programme providing for full union by stages at a meeting between the two Heads of State in Benghazi, Libya, in August 1972, and a merger of the two countries was planned for 1 September 1973. The Libyan leader, Col Qaddafi, demonstrated greater enthusiasm than President Sadat for total union, and in July 1973 Qaddafi organized a 40 000-strong Libyan march on Cairo, in order to bring pressure to bear on Egypt. The march was turned back about 200 miles from Cairo. An agreement in principle was nevertheless signed on 29 August, but few practical steps were taken to ensure it's prompt implementation.
