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The cause of war in this case would have been the New Orleans lynchings of 11 Italians.

third country attitudes towards the belligerent Italy and USA probably matter a great deal because of the geographic distance between the two.

On the position of France:

On the one hand, Italy was pursuing an anti-French under the then Prime Minister. So France tilting toward America seems logical.

On the other hand, France could see an opportunity to improve relations with Italy by taking a sympathetic stance to Rome in this instance. At the time, Italy would count for much more in the European balance than the United States, indeed, Italy had the third-largest armored fleet in Europe at the beginning of the 1890s. Also, the Italians, seeking redress for mob violence and murder, might appear in French eyes to have a more sympathetic cause than the Americans.
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