According to Stephen Krasner, the treaty set off a "golden age of free trade" in Europe, which lasted until the late 1870s.

[4] It is named after the main British and French originators of the treaty, Richard Cobden MP and Michel Chevalier.

In September, Cobden visited Chancellor of the Exchequer William Ewart Gladstone and they both agreed that a commercial treaty between Britain and France was a good idea.

After talks with Chevalier and French Minister of Commerce Eugène Rouher in Paris, Cobden had his first audience with the emperor on 27 October 1859.

Cobden replied that free trade tended to increase rather than diminish the demand for labour and that because of his tariff reforms Sir Robert Peel came to have great fame and reputation in Britain.

[5] On 9 December, Chevalier told Cobden that Rouher had drawn up a plan for a commercial treaty which would be submitted for approval by the emperor the next day.