What game was Napoleon III playing by meddling in Mexico in the 1860s? If he really wanted to create a French protectorate, why not dispatch a member of the Bonaparte family rather than a Hapsburg? Did he plan to keep the whole arrangement informal, with the Second Mexican Empire as a loyal puppet but nothing more? Did he ever envision the reestablishment of a French colonial presence in the New World, or was he just flying by the seat of his pants?