Unlike the excited Louis Napoleon, the French cabinet and parliament had already descended into chaos.
France had signed an armistice with Austria. If Austria really sent troops into Spain and installed pro-Austrian forces in power, France would never know a moment's peace.
Add Duke of Aumale to the south, and France would effectively be surrounded on three sides by anti-French forces. Neither the Republicans, the Bonapartists, nor the Party of Order could accept such a situation.
The French were still immensely proud. They had not given up their struggle for world hegemony. If the Austrians got their way, then forget about ruling the world—France might not even be able to defend itself.
"Damn it! We have to help Isabella II hold on to Spain!"
"Idiot! What do we stand to gain by helping Spain? Isabella II is a whore, just like her ungrateful mother!
"Didn't the July Monarchy fall because it supported Spain?"
Those words struck a chord with everyone. The House of Orleans in its heyday had been far more powerful than France was now, yet it had still sunk into the quagmire of Spain.
Countless funds, personnel, and supplies had been poured into the country, but they had never managed to secure a decisive victory. In that long war of attrition, the French Army's fighting spirit and France's national strength had been drained away.
What was even more infuriating was that Isabella II had shown no loyalty. Not only had she failed to send troops to help the House of Orleans through its crisis, she had also broken off her engagement to the Orleans royal family.
Now the Spanish royal family was pulling the same trick again. After the House of Habsburg broke off its engagement with them, they had gotten exactly what they deserved.
"What about Napoleon?"