France's entry into the fray made it obvious to everyone that Napoleon III had come to take a share of the spoils. This vulture's behavior was truly despicable, but who would stop him? And who could?
The British naturally didn't want the French barging in and interfering again. After all, with the French getting involved, Britain had theoretically lost any chance of sending troops to aid the Ottoman Empire.
But at that moment, the British truly lacked the courage to make another enemy on the European continent. The Austrian Empire alone had already left them scrambling to keep their heads above water.
If the war with the Austrian Empire hadn't dragged on for so long, Britain might still have had the nerve to declare war on Russia. Better yet, they could have used their greatest strength—their diplomatic offensive—to drive a wedge between Russia and Austria and make the two powers destroy each other.
But it was too late now. Not only had the difficulty of carrying out such a plan increased exponentially, but its chances of success were pitifully slim. Even if it worked, Britain, having lost the Mediterranean Fleet, might not gain much of an advantage.
The Russians didn't want the French getting involved either. After all, there was too little meat for too many wolves—or rather, the Russians simply had no desire to share their spoils with other countries.
However, Nicholas I was fixated on restoring Constantinople and didn't want to be distracted by dealing with the French. At most, he would use France's republican system to make a little political hay.
The Ottomans likewise didn't want the French to attack.
But the reality was that no country could stop France from doing this, and no one would try. Even the Ottomans, who were the ones getting beaten,