Maria Theresa had sent her foreign policy minister, Count Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz, to France to secure an alliance to enable Austria to reclaim Silesia.

Kaunitz had approached Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV's mistress, to intervene in the negotiations.

However, Louis XV had proved reluctant to agree to any treaty presented by Kaunitz.

Only with renewed aggression between France and Britain is Louis made to align with Austria.

Furthermore, Austria no longer surrounds France; instead, Frederick II has managed to end the prospect of Habsburg-German dominion bordering French lands.

Therefore, France no longer sees Austria as an immediate threat and so enters into a defensive alliance with Austria.

In response to the Westminster Convention, Louis XV’s ministers and Kaunitz conclude the First Treaty of Versailles on May 1, 1756, both sides agreeing to remain neutral and to provide twenty-four thousand troops if either one gets into conflict with a third party.