Fortunately, you see a lot less of that today than in years past
True, we're by necessity closer to Pakistan's dictator than anyone really likes. However, the combination of geography and nuclear weapons makes that unavoidable. In the meantime, we're not sucking up to the Saudis like we used to do, we didn't prop up Aristide in Haiti, and we've drawn the line on several others. One can hope we're getting better.
So, what's France's excuse, other than merely sucking up for commercial contracts? Is it better or worse to use unsavory dictators to stop the spread of communism in the old days or terrorism today than to get rich?