Treaty of Versailles (1871)

Treaty of Versailles

1871 Imperial Law Gazette of Germany
Type	Bilateral treaty
Signed	26 February 1871 (1871-02-26)
Location	Paris, France
Original signatories	Germany  France
Ratifiers	Germany  France
Language	French

The Treaty of Versailles of 1871 ended the Franco-Prussian War and was signed by Adolphe Thiers of the Third French Republic and Otto von Bismarck of the newly formed German Empire on 26 February 1871. A preliminary treaty, it was used to solidify the initial armistice of 28 January between the powers.^[1] It was ratified by the Treaty of Frankfurt on 10 May of the same year which confirmed the supremacy of the German Empire, replacing France as the dominant military power on the European continent.

Paris's governing body, the Government of National Defense had made an armistice, effective from 28 January, by surrendering to the Germans to end the siege of Paris; Jules Favre, a prominent French politician, did so, meeting with Bismarck in Versailles to sign the armistice. Adolphe Thiers emerged by the time of a formal treaty as the new French leader as the country began reconstructing its government.