I rapporti diplomatici italo-francesi dalla Seconda Guerra d’Indipendenza allo Schiaffo di Tunisi
French-Italian Diplomatic Relations from the Second Independence War up to the “Slap of Tunis

Summary/Abstract: The agreements of Plombières sanctioned the alliance between France and the Kingdom of Sardinia opposed to the Austrian Empire during the Second War of Independence. Under the agreements, the Kingdom of Sardinia would have obtained the Lombardo-Veneto and Napoleon III, Nice, Savoy, and he wanted to extend the French influence on the whole northern Italy. During the war, the French emperor was strongly contested by the public opinion for the many losses and the possibility of a military intervention of Prussia in support of Austria. For these reasons, Napoleon III decided to sign the Armistice of Villafranca. In 1860-1861 the Italian unification became a reality to which was opposed by the French public opinion, which didn’t want the creation of a new power in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea. In 1870, because of the Franco-Prussian War, the Second French Empire collapsed and the Italian Army took advantage of this situation to conquer Rome. The new French republican government accused Italy for failing to reciprocate the favor of 1859 and in subsequent years, the relations between the two States were unstable and consequential to the different governing coalitions. In 1881, French troops occupied Tunis, considered by the Italians their area of influence. The diplomatic relations were dangerously compromised and it was feared an imminent conflict between Italy and France.

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