ABSTRACT
After France had revolutionized Switzerland, the French Directoire, with the object of tightening up its relations with the Helvetic Republic, wished to renew the alliance. Since the beginning of the 16th century, the Confederation had been in defensive alliance with the French monarchy. This secured enough freedom of movement for Switzerland to prevent her having to take part in the French war policy. The French Directoire, however, now demanded that Switzerland should enter into an offensive alliance with it, by which she would have been harnessed to the war policy of the imperial revolution. In spite of violent resistance on the part of the Helvetic Directory, it was eventually forced by French threats to sign the treaty dictated by Paris. This treaty provided for mutual military assistance, obliged the Helvetic Republic to keep the roads open to France for military and commercial purposes, and deprived Switzerland of her right of asylum. The whole was tantamount to a surrender of Swiss neutrality.
