Prior to ratification, the queen and her prime minister sought clarification about several articles in the main treaty that stated "foreign relations" would be controlled by a French resident and referenced "establishments" at Diego-Suarez Bay. Two key French negotiators, Minister Patrimonio and Admiral Miot, provided an explanation affixed to the treaty as an annex, which led the rulers of Madagascar to deem the treaty an adequate enough safeguard of their nation's sovereignty to warrant their approval and signature. However, the official treaty was published in Paris without the annex or any reference to it. When the annex was later published in London, the French denied it had any legal validity. France declared a protectorate over the island despite the opposition of the Malagasy government and the omission of this term from the treaty.