After Clemenceau finished speaking, the current French military commander, Marshal Petain, also spoke: "I support the President's view."
"Gentlemen, right now we are merely making a choice between the glory of France and practical issues, but we must admit that the so-called glory is nothing but a fig leaf. If we sacrifice the future of the entire nation, whether or not this fig leaf is removed now, it will eventually be lifted by other countries."
"If we can use the power from East Africa to gracefully withdraw from the war, although it will hurt French national sentiment greatly, compared to dooming the future of the entire French nation, this is nothing."
"We should admit that since the war started, France's national strength has been unable to support our competition with the United Kingdom and Germany."
"In fact, France is now a second-rate country in Europe; since 1870, we have been no match for the United Kingdom and Germany."
