As time passed, the surging anti-French movement in Germany gradually spread into Austria.
Though the calls to halt Franco-Austrian trade were not particularly loud, appeals for the public to boycott French goods came one after another without end.
As a result, total Franco-Austrian import and export trade in the first quarter of 1889 plummeted by 36.8% compared with the same period last year, and goods bearing French labels were almost nowhere to be seen on the market.
Austria was not the only country affected. Driven by profit, the anti-French tide gradually spread across the entire European world.
Even Britain, which had only recently formed an alliance with France, saw a movement to boycott French goods erupt. Capital cared only about profit, not international relations.
Those in the same trade were natural enemies. If French goods were boycotted, domestic goods could sell more. Why let a chance to make money slip away?
Watching the European world offer tangible support to the two countries of Belgium and Germany, the French Government at the center of the storm panicked as well.
Was it not merely the strong bullying the weak? Every great power did the same—so why did it suddenly not work when it came to them?
Upon receiving news that France was being boycotted across Europe, Napoleon IV was completely dumbfounded. He simply could not understand why this had happened.
Foreign Minister Karel Kadletz said, "Your Majesty, this sudden movement to boycott us across Europe must be manipulated by someone behind the scenes.
"It certainly cannot be Belgium and Germany. If they possessed that kind of influence, they would have launched it long ago. There would have been no need for them to compromise with us.
"Only the United Kingdom and Austria possess the strength to simultaneously influence public opinion in all