French Reaction
History: Cambridge International GCSE The Twentieth Century (Option B), topic 1.2.6
France
Many French people didn’t think that the Treaty was harsh enough.
French attitudes
- Many French people thought the Treaty was not harsh enough on Germany.
- They feared Germany could recover and attack again in the future.
- Many wanted complete demilitarisation; even Clemenceau felt Germany should have no army.
- They thought the reparations were too low and Germany should pay more.
- This shows why France pushed for the harshest punishment at the peace talks.
Big Three: disagreements
- The Big Three had different goals and didn’t get everything they wanted.
- France wanted the harshest punishment for Germany because it suffered the most damage and casualties and feared future attacks.
- Britain wanted a weaker Germany but still strong enough for trade, as their homeland was not destroyed.
- USA wanted peace without harsh punishment, joining late and never seeing fighting on their soil.
Not harsh enough
- Many French people didn’t think that the Treaty of Versailles was harsh enough on Germany.
- The Treaty just weakened Germany and that it would be able to recover in the future.
Demilitarisation
- Lots of French people wanted the Germans to be stripped of their whole military and even Clemenceau felt that the Germans shouldn’t even have an army.
- They were not happy with just limiting the size of the army.
Reparations
- The French thought that the reparations were not high enough and that the Germans should have to pay even more reparations.
Test yourself on French Reaction
What did Clemenceau think Germany should be stripped of?