[1] This Constituent Assembly was composed of: After Léon Kauffman's resignation, Émile Reuter formed a government that was a coalition between the four major parties.
[2] Taking account of the new majority in the legislature, the ministers Collart, Liesch (liberal) and Welter (independent) tendered their resignations.
[2] After the armistice of 11 November 1918, German troops left the country, making way for the Allied armies which passed through Luxembourg to occupy the Rhineland.
[3] Under pressure from the Allies, on 19 December 1918 the Luxembourg government renounced its membership of the Zollverein, and ended German rights to its railways.
[3] It was hoped that the voice of the people would make an impression, at a time when the winners of the war were re-drawing the map of Europe according to principles of Wilsonian self-determination.
[3] On 10 May, the French ambassador informed the Luxembourgish government that his country had no intention of forming an economic union, and advised it to turn towards Belgium.
[3] In 1917, France renounced any ambitions with regards to Luxembourg, but kept this secret from the Luxembourgish government, in order to conceal the intentions of the French negotiators.
[3] After the war, France intended to take advantage of the Luxembourg question, by persuading Belgium to conclude a military pact.
[4] Bound by its neutral status and solidly anchored in the German sphere of influence, Luxembourg had not led a real foreign policy before World War I.
[4] Luxembourg was not invited to the Paris Peace Conference and was not one of the founding members of the League of Nations established by the Treaty of Versailles.
[4] Luxembourg's unarmed neutrality seemed at first to present an obstacle to its admission, as the League's charter provided for the passage of troops over member states' territory, and the participation in economic and financial sanctions against a hypothetical belligerent.
[5] After the German withdrawal, on 10 and 11 November 1918, a Soviet was formed in Luxembourg City on the same model as the workers' and peasants' councils in Russia.
[5] In the Chamber of Deputies, the liberals and socialists demanded an end to the monarchy, accusing the Grand Duchess of intervening in the political arena in a partisan manner, and of having been too close to the German occupiers.
[5] Émile Reuter, Auguste Liesch and Nicolas Welter returned to Luxembourg with empty hands, where the troubles continued.
[5] In a referendum on 28 September 1919, Luxembourgers were invited to express their wishes on the economic future of the country, the political regime (monarchy vs republic), and Grand Duchess personally.
[5] The development of mass trade unions, and the short-lived creation of a Soviet after the war, revealed a profound disquiet in Luxembourgish society.
[6] It was essentially the workforce – workers, private employees, or civil servants – that were suffering from the price rises and food shortages.
[6] Reacting to massive lay-offs and pay cuts in the steel industry, the mine- and metalworkers' union (BMIAV) started a prolonged strike.
[6] Giving way to the fears of business-owners and under pressure from the French and Belgian ambassadors, Émile Reuter abolished the factory councils by decree of 11 March 1921.
[6] The government appealed for French troops to intervene, who managed to establish order in the mining area alongside Luxembourgish gendarmes and soldiers from the Company of Volunteers.
[7] After the war, the government gave private employees, civil servants, and railway workers a significant improvement in their working conditions.
[7] The Grand Ducal decree of 14 May 1921 gave railway workers a status similar to that of civil servants, especially with regards to pensions and security of employment.
[9] France agreed to withdraw if the Belgian and Luxembourgish governments reached an agreement, but continued to exploit Guillaume-Luxembourg in the meantime.
[9] In May 1924, Reuter signed a treaty with Belgium which required the unification of the Guillaume-Luxembourg and Prince-Henri networks under a Board of Directors where Belgian representatives would have a majority.
[9] ARBED, which feared the influence of the Société Générale de Belgique on Luxembourgish railways, had also opposed the government's plans.