The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1103 - 825: Spanish Civil War_3

But the issue is that the only problem France faces is war. To resolve war with peace is ludicrous to the very concept of war itself.

As expected, upon hearing President Albert Lebrun's decision, the rather radical French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier grew restless and stood up, saying, "Your Excellency, we cannot ignore the threat that a radicalizing Spain poses to France.

If we wait until Germany and Italy officially dispatch troops to Spain before we act, it will be too late.

Once Germany, Italy, and Spain forge an alliance, France will no longer have the capacity to resist them in the Mediterranean Sea; our southern coastline will be threatened by Italy and Spain.

Additionally, Spain as our southern land neighbor, could potentially pose a threat to our southern provinces.

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If we cannot support the Spanish Republic, the fall of the Spanish Republic could very likely be replayed in France."

Hearing Prime Minister Édouard Daladier's rebuttal, President Albert Lebrun's pride was somewhat wounded, and he directly countered, "Even aggressive Germany and Italy have not openly dispatched troops; what reason do we have to dispatch troops to interfere with the war in Spain?

Moreover, we have the Pyrenees mountains as a barrier between us and Spain; no matter what Spain becomes, their armies cannot threaten us.

Besides, the British are in the region of Spain, and they would never allow Germany and Italy to take control of Spain.

We simply need to sit back and wait, wait for the British at Gibraltar and the Spanish radicals, or even what you call the German and Italian volunteer forces, to clash—that is what we would indeed like to see."

Compared to Prime Minister Édouard Daladier, who wants direct intervention in the Spanish Civil War, President Albert Lebrun leans more toward neutrality.

Especially now, when the president's power has not yet been weakened, the President holds absolute authority over the Prime Minister.

Seeing that he could not persuade President Albert Lebrun, Prime Minister Édouard Daladier could only sigh in resignation, canceling all his prepared persuasion plans.

Prime Minister Édouard Daladier had come to realize that by himself, he is simply unable to convince President Albert Lebrun.

However, this didn't mean Prime Minister Édouard had no means of retaliation. Knowing that he could not sway President Albert, Prime Minister Édouard instructed his subordinates to spread the word that remaining neutral was the President's decision, trying to diminish his presence in this affair.

In Prime Minister Édouard's view, by forgoing this opportunity, France's future situation would only worsen.

If France loses the upcoming war because of this, the one making the decisions now will undoubtedly be pegged to the pillar of shame in the French Republic.

For Prime Minister Édouard Daladier at present, the most important issue is how to avoid bearing the responsibility himself.

Meanwhile, President Albert perceived Prime Minister Édouard's actions but deemed them insignificant.

In President Albert's opinion, even if Spain were to become an ally of Germany and Italy, it doesn't imply that France and the Austrian Empire would be at a disadvantage in this confrontation.

Setting aside the question of how much strength post-civil war Spain could muster—even a fully recovered Spain remains but a medium-tier country in Europe, neither industrially nor economically mighty.

Besides, Germany and Italy, if they wish to help the faltering Spanish rebels win the civil war, will have to invest a significant amount of manpower, financial resources, and material support.

This, too, would weaken the powers of Germany and Italy. After all, if these armies and weapons and equipment are used in the Spanish Civil War, doesn't that mean there would be fewer of them available in a potential future war involving Germany and Italy?

As for the casualties inflicted on the German and Italian military, that would be even better news.

After all, the military forces of this time are trained elites, not the hastily summoned and barely trained cannon fodder that would emerge in the event of a war outbreak.

Furthermore, President Albert did not believe that a war between Germany and France would occur in the near future. At least during his term, France should be stronger than Germany, and the Germans probably wouldn't dare to initiate such a war.