The British had also approached Napoleon III, hoping he would sign a declaration renouncing Guatemala and Salvador. In return, Britain would provide a loan to the government of the French Second Empire.
Clearly, the British had underestimated Louis Napoleon—and underestimated the French.
Louis Napoleon refused to sign the agreement. Not only Napoleon III, but Louis Philippe, the Duke of Aumale, and even the Count of Chambord all refused to put their names to this humiliating, sovereignty-stripping treaty, no matter how greatly it might benefit them personally.
Without the French nodding their approval, the British truly did not dare openly seize Guatemala and Salvador. They only dared infiltrate them in the shadows, cultivating proxies to control them indirectly.
Yet with the British present, the French also did not dare rashly send troops to recover their lost lands.
However, with the Austrian Empire's support, the situation became entirely different. Britain could not possibly offend both France and Austria, two great powers, at once. It might even voluntarily relinquish the two territories in order to win France over and prevent it from siding with Austria—or go a step further and directly send troops to help France suppress the rebellion.
As for Gold Standard reform, it was likewise beneficial to France. At this time, France's financial circles were by no means lacking in farsighted people, and both Louis Napoleon and Alexander Colonna Walewski were politicians of great vision.
They even had to thank Franz for helping them resolve a major headache. After all, monetary reform in any country had to face the backlash of competing interest groups.
Yet at this moment, the French Second Empire government only needed to dump all the responsibility onto the Austrian Empire, and the matter would be resolved perfectly.
They did not believe the Austrian Empire could so easily