The southern French city of Toulouse, the Town Hall, the temporary seat of the French government.
Within the meeting room, all the cabinet ministers of the French government had gathered. Today, they convened to discuss a single matter: the telegram that Foreign Minister Théophile Delcassé had sent, detailing the conditions imposed by the Germans. Now, the task at hand was to decide whether or not France should accept these terms.
President Poincaré and Prime Minister René Viviani had already reviewed the telegram. However, their faces had darkened considerably. The other ministers, upon seeing their expressions, immediately surmised that the conditions from the Germans must be extraordinarily harsh. Otherwise, their demeanor would not have turned so grim.
"Is everyone present? Very well, let us begin the meeting," President Poincaré declared.
At once, the room fell silent, and all murmurs ceased.
"Gentlemen, the Germans have presented five conditions. We will now disclose these terms to you, and then we can discuss whether we should accept them," President Poincaré continued.
"The first condition concerns reparations. The Germans are demanding a war indemnity of one hundred billion marks. Thanks to the efforts of the Foreign Minister, this amount has been reduced to fifty-five billion marks. The Germans are steadfast in their position and will not allow any further reduction," Poincaré announced.
"My God! One hundred billion marks? Have the Germans gone mad?"
"How can they be so ruthless as to demand such an astronomical amount? Do they intend to strip the last franc from the French Republic?"
Upon hearing the staggering sum of the reparations, the ministers immediately erupted in shock and outrage. While they had anticipated that the war indemnity would be substantial, they had not imagined it would be this immense. Even the revised sum of fifty-five billion marks was an astronomical figure, equivalent to approximately 687.5 billion francs. Such a colossal indemnity would leave France utterly destitute. To put it into perspective, even during the Franco-Prussian War, the reparations demanded had not been this severe. The Germans now sought an amount more than thirteen times greater than the indemnity France had paid after that conflict.
"Mr. President, we simply do not have the means to pay this amount. If it were two or three hundred billion, we could consider it. But fifty-five billion marks is an impossible sum for France to muster!" Finance Minister Alexandre Ribot exclaimed.
"The Germans are well aware of our overseas investments and assets, which is why they have set this figure," Prime Minister René Viviani replied.
"Scoundrels! How could the Germans know about our overseas assets? Could there be spies within the government?" Ribot growled furiously, his face flushed with indignation. After all, this was a matter of national intelligence.
"Enough of this. What's done is done. The Germans have made their demand. Should we agree to it?" President Poincaré asked.
"Should we pay such an indemnity, we would have nothing left to stabilize the nation or heal the wounds of war," Ribot said solemnly.
"If we refuse the Germans, will they continue their attack?" Minister of War Alexandre Millerand asked.
Poincaré nodded gravely.
Seeing the response, Millerand fell silent, realizing there was little room for further discussion.
"The second condition: the Germans demand that we cede all of our overseas colonies to them," Poincaré continued.
"The Germans truly have an insatiable appetite! Our vast colonial holdings, and they want every last one of them—will they leave anything for the Empire? Do they even have the manpower to govern all of them?" Minister of the Colonies, angry and incredulous, protested.
If France were to cede all its colonies, it was clear that the Minister of Colonies would have no further role. After all, without colonies, what need was there for a colonial minister?
"The Germans have long coveted our colonies, and, of course, the British ones as well. That's precisely why they started this war. Who would have thought they would win? Soon enough, the Germans will become the most powerful colonial empire in the world," said Navy Minister Victor Gagnoulle.
"It's an unfortunate reality. The Germans won the war, and now we must submit to their will," Minister Millerand remarked, his voice heavy with resignation.
Though the loss of so many colonies was a crushing blow for France, the ministers were, nonetheless, prepared to relinquish them if it meant securing peace.
"The third condition: the Germans demand that we cede all territory north of the Loire River, including Paris, as well as Corsica," Poincaré continued.
"What? The Germans want half of our territory?"
"Damned Germans! This is clearly an attempt to destroy France. If they take half our land, the most prosperous and developed half, what reason would we have to continue to exist as a nation?"
"Fight! Fight to the death! Even if we cannot defeat the Germans, we can flee to the colonies. We still have territories where we can organize armies to continue resisting."
At this, nearly every minister was overcome with rage. They roared and cursed the Germans for their audacity and greed.
"The Germans have made their intentions clear. If we refuse their terms, they will continue their assault. Even if we flee to our overseas colonies to resist, they will pursue us and capture every last one of those territories. Moreover, to ensure they receive sufficient reparations, they will seize all wealth within France. If the French dare to protest, they will not hesitate to massacre them. It is rumored that, if things come to that, the Germans plan to kill two to three million French citizens to break the resolve of the remaining population, forcing them to surrender and accept their fate," Prime Minister Viviani said, his voice grim.
At once, all the ministers fell silent. Fear was etched on their faces, and it was evident that the gravity of the situation had fully dawned on them. The Germans had already planned their course of action, and it was clear—this was an attempt to force France into a corner, with no escape.