Benito Juárez suspended Mexico’s foreign-debt payments in 1861, helping trigger the French intervention linked to Cinco de Mayo.
Mexico was struggling financially after the Reform War, a civil conflict between liberals and conservatives. Juárez’s government announced a two-year suspension of payments to foreign creditors, including Britain, France, and Spain. The three countries sent forces to demand repayment, but Britain and Spain eventually negotiated and withdrew.
France, ruled by Napoleon III, continued its campaign. French leaders used the debt dispute as a pretext for a wider plan to establish a French-backed monarchy in Mexico. French troops advanced toward Mexico City but were defeated by Mexican forces at Puebla on May 5, 1862.
The victory did not end the intervention. France captured Mexico City the following year and installed Maximilian as emperor. Juárez remained the constitutional president and continued resistance. Cinco de Mayo therefore commemorates a major Mexican defensive victory, not the final defeat of the French intervention.