In the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), France allied with Prussia to attack Austria, which ended in Austria being forced to cede its richest and most prized province, Silesia, to the Prussians. During the War of the Polish Succession (1733–1735), France and its allies managed to weaken the power of Austria severely and forced it to give up small amounts of territory. Throughout the 17th century and for the first half of the 18th century, France and Austria had been enemies and repeatedly fought wars against each other. Austria actively tried to restore the French monarchy by going to war with the new French Republic.įurther information: Anglo-Austrian Alliance, Franco-Prussian Alliance, and French-Habsburg rivalry During the French Revolution, when France first declared itself a constitutional monarchy and then overthrew and executed its king, the alliance had collapsed entirely. Austria even briefly considered the idea of entering the American War of Independence on Britain's side against France. After the allies' defeat, the intimacy of the alliance weakened, and by the 1780s, the alliance had become something closer to a formality. The alliance had its heyday during the Seven Years' War, when France and Austria joined forces to fight their mutual enemy, Prussia. It lasted for much of the remainder of the century until it was abandoned during the French Revolution. The Franco-Austrian Alliance was a diplomatic and military alliance between France and Austria that was first established in 1756 after the First Treaty of Versailles.

Foreign alliances of Franceįor the modern relations of both countries, see Austria–France relations. Her empire's growing rivalry with Prussia led to an alliance with France, a historic enemy of Vienna.

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