He arranged for the armistice of 28 January 1871 without knowing the situation of the armies, and without consulting the government at Bordeaux. By a grave oversight, he neglected to inform Léon Gambetta that the Army of the East (80,000 men) was not included in the armistice, and it was thus obliged to retreat to neutral territory. He showed no diplomatic skill in the negotiations for the Treaty of Frankfurt, and it was Bismarck who imposed all the conditions. He withdrew from the ministry, discredited, on 2 August 1871, but remained in the Chamber of Deputies as a member of the Opportunist parliamentary group, "Gauche républicaine". Elected Senator on 30 January 1876, he continued to support the government of the republic against the reactionary opposition until his death on 20 January 1880.