On September 11, 1890, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Greece, and Montenegro simultaneously closed their trade routes with France. The embargo on supplies officially began.
For a time, the entire European Continent was on edge. Everyone knew this was the omen of an approaching storm; a continental war now seemed unavoidable.
Persuade the French to yield?
The Anti-French Alliance's embargo had directly backed the Paris Government into a corner. Taking one step back would not reveal a vast sea and open sky, but an abyssal hell.
Persuade the Anti-French Alliance to calm down?
That was even less possible. The Anti-French Alliance was the victim. If the French had not been so wildly ambitious, seeking to invade Central Europe, none of this would have happened.
The concerns of the bystanders were merely that a continental war might leave them as fish caught in the flames. It was not because they loved peace so deeply; true pacifists could never hold power.
At the Palace of Versailles, Napoleon IV, dark circles under his eyes, convened another political meeting. There was no helping it—waiting was what made people most anxious.
As the situation developed, what had originally been an attempt to profit from Belgium and Germany had now evolved into a decisive battle that would determine France's future fate.
Foreign Minister Karel Kadletz said, "Austria has already begun forming an Anti-French Alliance and has now drawn Belgium, the North German Confederation, Greece, and Montenegro into it.
"Switzerland and the Netherlands have begun wavering, while anti-French voices within the Spanish Government are steadily growing louder. Most mainstream opinion in Europe now leans toward the Anti-French Alliance.
"Recently, Austria has also strengthened its contacts with the Nordic Federation and Portugal. If we continue to delay, the situation will only grow increasingly unfavorable to us."
Imagination was the most