The masses were clever.
But sometimes they were foolish too, easily swayed by rumors—especially in the magical land of France, where such cases were all too common.
After all, revolutions had never been in short supply here.
Not long ago, an article in The Daily Prophet had directly ignited the emotions of the wizards living on this land, reminding all French wizards of the major events that had occurred not long ago.
In the face of Dark Wizards' provocations, the Ministry of Magic had actually done nothing.
Considering the monstrous crimes those Dark Wizards had committed, French Aurors should have been more than justified in throwing them into prison for life.
And yet?
The French Ministry of Magic had simply ignored it?
It was hard not to wonder whether their minister had yielded to the Dark Wizards.
This was intolerable no matter how one looked at it. Especially with the neighboring British wizarding world as an example, French wizards had become deeply insecure, believing that the Ministry of Magic needed to strengthen its defenses to avoid following in their neighbors' footsteps.
They never minded mocking their neighbors' miserable plight, but they had no desire to end up like those neighbors.
It was simply too miserable.
So miserable that French wizards felt too embarrassed to mock their neighbors anymore. There was even no shortage of people who sympathized with their tragic fate.
Once the wizards learned of the role the International Confederation of Wizards had played in the matter, they could not help worrying about their own situation.
After all, if the International Confederation of Wizards could not fulfill the duties for which it existed, what would they do if something similar happened to them someday?
England was separated from France only by the Channel, and that stretch of water clearly