WI French support for German unification in the 19th century?

I do think that getting outright support in France for the creation of a unified Germany is unlikely. French support for Italian unification was conditional enough, Napoleon III probably being surprised by the extent to which his support for a reordered pro-French Italian landscape was outpaced by the creation of a single Italian state encompassing the entire peninsula. Unifying the German states, when Germany was arguably on path to outstrip France, would normally be a non-starter.

In the story of Italian unification, I do see one potential French trajectory. France ended up supporting the cause of Italian nationalism, and the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, because it saw in this movement and that kingdom a force that could reform the Italian peninsula in a pro-French direction. WI German nationalism had a similar potential in Germany, with established powers like Austria and Prussia opposing it but a pro-French state of note (Bavaria?) embracing it. The result would be a Kleindeutschland that, at least initially, would exclude both of the German great powers.

At a minimum, I think this would require Prussia's presence in Germany to be limited. Perhaps if it ends up an eastern-focused state in the Napoleonic settlement, with the Rhineland and Westphalia going to another power?

Thoughts?
 
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