ABSTRACT
German support of Britain in Egypt had led France and Germany to eye each other with suspicion, but when in March, 1890, William II dismissed the Iron Chancellor Bismarck, to the delight of France. The only policy left to ambitious France was to offer objections to British reforms as often as this indicated durable occupation. On the other hand as long as the Franco-Russian alliance permitted hope of Mediterranean control, the British clung to Egyptian occupation as an essential. French policy continued to urge the evacuation of Egypt by the British, and Granville on January 3, 1883, declared his readiness to do this as soon as the situation would permit. Most of the large business enterprises of Egypt employed French capital and French technicians, and French was the official and commercial language. The Canal reinforced the prestige of France and aroused the fearful opposition of Palmerston.
