BigBlueBox
Banned
As the title says, was there any way the Second French Empire could have survived a defeat in the Franco-Prussian war that led to the loss of Alsace-Lorraine?
Still would be a strech, the republicans with little love to him would despose him as OTL, monarchist never cared about him anyway. For me the only winning move is not to play, again if by consesion they just loss some minor land(just strassburg) might workI think you would need a very different war, with the french being much more competent than otl, and ideally Napoleon managing some diplomatic feat that snatches them from the jaws of complete defeat in exchange for some concessions elsewhere but still with France losing on better terms than otl in order to create anywhere near enough goodwill to survive a defeat
Napoleon III suffered from kidney stone disease and frequently had to go on thermal cures.I think you would need a very different war, with the french being much more competent than otl, and ideally Napoleon managing some diplomatic feat that snatches them from the jaws of complete defeat in exchange for some concessions elsewhere but still with France losing on better terms than otl in order to create anywhere near enough goodwill to survive a defeat
The only way for the second empire to survive would be a victory in the war.
What if the monarchists were then delegated more power in a federated imperial system to balance out the republicans?Actually, the Republican Sentiment was relatively weak compared to the monarchist or eve Bonaparist before the war. The Republicans did have a large concentration... in Paris. This is a problem for Napoleon III if he is ever outside the capital and shows a moment of weakness.
What if the monarchists were then delegated more power in a federated imperial system to balance out the republicans?