Carlota arrived in France at the harbor of Saint-Nazaire on August 8 and was greeted by Juan Almonte and his wife.
From there Carlota took a train and arrived in Paris on August 9—on the way she had received a telegraph from Napoleon III, informing her that he was terribly ill, but this did little to dissuade her.
She stayed at the Le Grand Hôtel and upon arriving was greeted by Napoleon III's wife, Eugénie de Montijo, hoping to deter the determined empress.
But again, Carlota could not be dissuaded and Eugénie came to arrange the first of three meetings between the two of them.

Carlota gave long impassioned speeches, reminding Napoleon III of his promises and the Treaty of Miramar.
But he and his ministers were unwavering in their position, viewing the Mexican Empire as a lost cause and feeling there were greater concerns on the home front with Prussia.
With her efforts all falling to ruin Carlota began manifesting symptoms of paranoia and suffered a profound cognitive and emotional collapse.
The first signs of this could be seen with her second meeting with Napoleon, where she became overwhelmed by sadness and threw herself into a nearby armchair, sobbing hysterically.
On August 19 in Le Grand Hôtel, Napoleon III met Carlota for the third and final time, declaring with finality his decision to cease providing aid and encouraged her to have Maximilian abdicate the throne.

On August 21, Carlota left for Miramare, Maximilian's castle near Trieste, Italy.
On the journey there, Carlota's mental health showed signs of worsening—passing by a farmer, she became convinced that it was an assassin after her and persistently shouted at her coachman to drive faster.
Once at Miramare she found a message from Maximilian waiting for her, imploring Carlota to seek an audience with Pope Pius IX in Rome.
On the way to Rome she showed further signs of deteriorating mental health; while stopping for the night at the city of Bolzano, Italy, Carlota informed Martin Castillo that she felt unwell and insisted that it was due to being poisoned by spies and traitors of Napoleon III among them.

Carlota finally had her audience with Pope Pius IX on September 27, but he was reluctant to use his influence to intervene with Napoleon III on her empire's behalf.
She became despondent and distant thereafter, overwhelmed by despair and paranoia, and remained within her hotel for the next two days.
She had begun to deny herself food and water, fearful that someone was out to poison her.
On October 1, Carlota went to the Vatican to meet with the Pope, dressed in clothes of mourning, her face reportedly displaying sunken eyes and flushed cheeks.
Crying hysterically, she begged to be sheltered for the night out of fear of assassins sent by Napoleon waiting outside, refusing to leave the premises even if it meant having to sleep on the stone floor.
The pope conceded to her request and had a bed moved into the library for her, making her one of the few women to ever stay overnight in the Vatican.
Carlota spent most of that night writing her will and farewell letters.
The following days Carlota confined herself to her hotel room, leaving only on occasion to drink public water from the fountains in Rome with a goblet she had stolen from the Pope's apartment.

When her family eventually became informed of her activities they were shocked and King Leopold sent the count of Flanders to Italy to visit his sister.
The Empress, who was very depressed and unstable, took her court to Miramare on advice of her brother the Count of Flanders.
Dr. Riedel, Director of the Lunatic Asylum of Vienna visited her, to report the Emperor.
Carlota arrived in France at the harbor of Saint-Nazaire on August 8 and was greeted by Juan Almonte and his wife. From there Carlota took a train and arrived in Paris on August 9—on the way she had received a telegraph from Napoleon III, informing her that he was terribly ill, but this did little to dissuade her. She stayed at the Le Grand Hôtel and upon arriving was greeted by Napoleon III's wife, Eugénie de Montijo, hoping to deter the determined empress. But again, Carlota could not be dissuaded and Eugénie came to arrange the first of three meetings between the two of them. 
Carlota gave long impassioned speeches, reminding Napoleon III of his promises and the Treaty of Miramar. But he and his ministers were unwavering in their position, viewing the Mexican Empire as a lost cause and feeling there were greater concerns on the home front with Prussia. With her efforts all falling to ruin Carlota began manifesting symptoms of paranoia and suffered a profound cognitive and emotional collapse. The first signs of this could be seen with her second meeting with Napoleon, where she became overwhelmed by sadness and threw herself into a nearby armchair, sobbing hysterically. On August 19 in Le Grand Hôtel, Napoleon III met Carlota for the third and final time, declaring with finality his decision to cease providing aid and encouraged her to have Maximilian abdicate the throne.
On August 21, Carlota left for Miramare, Maximilian's castle near Trieste, Italy. On the journey there, Carlota's mental health showed signs of worsening—passing by a farmer, she became convinced that it was an assassin after her and persistently shouted at her coachman to drive faster. Once at Miramare she found a message from Maximilian waiting for her, imploring Carlota to seek an audience with Pope Pius IX in Rome. On the way to Rome she showed further signs of deteriorating mental health; while stopping for the night at the city of Bolzano, Italy, Carlota informed Martin Castillo that she felt unwell and insisted that it was due to being poisoned by spies and traitors of Napoleon III among them. 
Carlota finally had her audience with Pope Pius IX on September 27, but he was reluctant to use his influence to intervene with Napoleon III on her empire's behalf. She became despondent and distant thereafter, overwhelmed by despair and paranoia, and remained within her hotel for the next two days. She had begun to deny herself food and water, fearful that someone was out to poison her. On October 1, Carlota went to the Vatican to meet with the Pope, dressed in clothes of mourning, her face reportedly displaying sunken eyes and flushed cheeks. Crying hysterically, she begged to be sheltered for the night out of fear of assassins sent by Napoleon waiting outside, refusing to leave the premises even if it meant having to sleep on the stone floor. The pope conceded to her request and had a bed moved into the library for her, making her one of the few women to ever stay overnight in the Vatican. Carlota spent most of that night writing her will and farewell letters. The following days Carlota confined herself to her hotel room, leaving only on occasion to drink public water from the fountains in Rome with a goblet she had stolen from the Pope's apartment.
When her family eventually became informed of her activities they were shocked and King Leopold sent the count of Flanders to Italy to visit his sister. The Empress, who was very depressed and unstable, took her court to Miramare on advice of her brother the Count of Flanders. Dr. Riedel, Director of the Lunatic Asylum of Vienna visited her, to report the Emperor.
Carlota of Mexico