The civil war that had erupted in Spain shrouded every country in Europe beneath a haze of war.
Although it appeared to be merely Spain's internal affair, the upper echelons of most countries knew that behind Spain stood two major military blocs, led by the Franco-Austrian Alliance and the German-Italian Alliance.
Just like the Sarajevo Incident that had once caused a sensation, if the two major military blocs interfered too deeply in Spain's internal affairs, it could very well trigger a chain of events—even ignite a war between the two blocs.
War was something nobody wanted to see. That was precisely why huge numbers of French citizens took to the streets, demanding that the government stay out of the Spanish Civil War and not let it become the fuse for the next world war, as the Sarajevo Incident had done.
In fact, this behavior of the French people picking up a rock only to smash their own government's feet was hardly a rare occurrence. To the French, using demonstrations to intimidate the government was practically an activity held every so often.
As for whether their demonstrations and demands would influence the country's diplomatic strategy, all of that seemed utterly insignificant in the face of war.
To the French, so long as they could prevent a war like the world war twenty years earlier from breaking out, they would even go so far as to directly dismiss the current government.
Huge numbers of French people took to the streets, raising all kinds of banners. Every one of them bore slogans such as, "We need peace! We don't want war!"
The French demonstrators marched in mighty ranks through the streets of Paris, successfully drawing the attention of the French Government.
For President Albert, this was simply the best news imaginable. The demands