In fact, the country that had lent Tunisia the most money at this time was France—more precisely, the French Second Empire.
Under the New Vienna System led by the Austrian Empire, France was tightly hemmed in. Even in the Americas and Africa, it could only struggle head-on against great powers such as Britain and Austria.
Asia, on the other side of the globe, was simply too much of a stretch for France at this point. Napoleon III readily turned his attention to Tunisia, just across the sea.
On one hand, because of the Duchy of Aumale, Tunisia had long been threatened by its neighbor, while the French Second Empire also regarded it as a rebel force. Their common enemy gave both sides a basis for cooperation.
On the other hand, French capital also wished to expand abroad. Tunisia, with no backing of any kind, naturally became an excellent target for export, especially since the Ottoman Empire's influence could practically be ignored.
Moreover, Napoleon III personally fell hard for the whole "worship of Napoleon" routine. Ahmed claimed to admire Napoleon and yearn for France's civilized world.
This filled Louis Napoleon with pride, and Ahmed naturally reaped even more goodwill as a result.
Yet once Austria and Britain reached an agreement, Tunisia would be swiftly carved up. The debts owed to Britain and Austria would naturally be assumed by the protectorates each established, but France's debt would become a ball kicked from one side to the other.
No one would willingly take on a debt unless the French offered sufficient chips—or paid a sufficient price.
Most frightening of all, even if Louis Napoleon discovered this, he would be powerless to stop it. The price France would have to pay to help Tunisia suppress its rebellion was not small, and success was not