The Second French Intervention occurred due to the plans of the Emperor of France, Napoleon III, to establish a government under his authority that would oppose the United States. Therefore, although the pretext was a foreign debt problem that was easily resolved with other creditors, the French army decided to begin its advance toward the capital of the republic.
In this context, the Battle of Puebla took place between General Ignacio Zaragoza and the French army of Count Lorencez. On May 5, 1862, both sides clashed, and, to the displeasure of Napoleon III and all his forces, Mexico won the battle.
General Zaragoza’s triumph at Puebla changed the plans of the French army. The Emperor of France did not forgive Lorencez for the defeat and removed him from command. He was replaced by Frédéric Forey, who arrived accompanied by 30,000 French soldiers (and some from other allied nations).
Forey’s plan was different. This time, he decided to besiege Puebla, that is, block the city’s entrances and exits until the Mexicans, led by Jesús González Ortega (Zaragoza died on September 8 of typhoid fever), surrendered due to a lack of food and ammunition.
The Siege of Puebla began on March 16, 1863, and ended two months later on May 17. Forey’s plan worked, although he had to redouble his efforts in the final days because both sides were running out of supplies.
Puebla was largely a conservative city, opposed to the republican system, secularism, and the government of Benito Juárez in general, so many Puebla residents welcomed the intervention of the French troops. Zaragoza himself said in a telegram that Angelopolis was “in mourning” over the Liberal victory.
This explains the magnificent entrance General Frédéric Forey received upon his formal entry into the city of Puebla on May 19. Upon his arrival at the cathedral, he was greeted by the high clergy and important businessmen, and a Te Deum (a celebratory ringing of bells, usually given to people deserving of state honors) and a Domine Salvum were sung.
Afterwards, Forey’s men marched in the plaza while the inhabitants of Puebla shouted “Long live the Emperor!” During their stay, the French were accommodated in the finest homes of the Puebla residents. The following year, they would receive an even more sumptuous entrance at Angelopolis, protected by the French Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlota, protected by the French invasion. The French forces entered Mexico City on June 10 of the same year.
Meanwhile, seeing that Puebla had fallen and there was no obstacle between the French and the capital, President Benito Juárez began making preparations to leave Mexico City. The head of state wasn’t leaving alone; he was accompanied by his wife, his children, his chief ministers, the national archives, and the republican government that had never ceased to exist during the four years of Maximilian’s reign.
Source: infobae
