Armed Threat

The territory north of the Loire River was undoubtedly the finest part of France. Nearly all of France's major industries were concentrated in this region. The vast southern regions, meanwhile, were primarily agricultural and pastoral.

Once it lost the vast territory north of the Loire River, France would fall completely from an industrial power into a third-rate agricultural nation. Such a transformation was undoubtedly unacceptable to the ministers. What was more, Paris was included among the territories to be ceded to Germany.

"Your Excellency the President, Your Excellency the Prime Minister, can we still negotiate with the Germans and cede less territory to Germany?" Chancellor of the Exchequer Alexander Ribot asked.

President Poincaré and Prime Minister René Viviani both shook their heads repeatedly.

"The Germans have made their position absolute. They insist on the territory north of the Loire River, leaving not the slightest room for bargaining," President Poincaré said. His words brimmed with profound helplessness. As President of France, facing such circumstances yet powerless to do anything, was that not a tragedy?

"Then we have no other choice. Either we accept the Germans' terms and cede half our territory to them, or we resist to the bitter end. Of course, that would most likely mean being completely destroyed by Germany," Alexander Ribot continued.

Without question, neither of these outcomes was what the French government wanted. If possible, they wanted to choose neither. Yet regrettably, they had to choose one of them.

"If we continue resisting, can we hold on?" President Poincaré asked.

"Your Excellency the President, if we continue to resist, the homeland will soon fall. We will likely have no choice but to flee into exile in our overseas colonies. But the Germans possess the most powerful navy in the world. So even exile in the overseas colonies