Palace of Versailles
Foreign Minister Auvergne said, "Your Majesty, the New Holy Roman Empire's envoy to Paris has sent us a diplomatic note. They propose that our two countries act jointly on the Greek question.
It seems the Vienna Government fears that the British may seize this opportunity to annex the Kingdom of Greece, threatening their interests."
At this time, Greece's population had only just exceeded one million. After this war, its losses among the young and able-bodied had been severe.
If the British intended to turn the Kingdom of Greece into their colony, it would not be particularly difficult.
This concern was clearly not unwarranted. Strategically, annexing Greece could bring the British enormous benefits: not only could it bar the Russians from entering the Mediterranean Sea, it could also strengthen Britain's voice in the Near East.
The Paris Government was equally worried by this. The pie in the Near East was only so large; if the British took a bigger share, they would inevitably squeeze out French interests there.
After considering it, Napoleon III said, "The British annexation of the Kingdom of Greece would be extremely detrimental to our Near East strategy. Send someone to speak with the Austrians. So long as our conflicts of interest are not too serious, we will act jointly with them."
Napoleon III was still rather timid about confronting the British alone, but with Austria joining him, he feared nothing. At this time, the gap in strength among Britain, France, Russia, and Austria had not yet widened. Even if Britain held an advantage, it could not fight two enemies at once.
Common interests were always the foundation of cooperation. France and the New Holy Roman Empire were in contention for hegemony over the European Continent; logically, the two sides ought to have been riddled