Who was more satisfied with the Treaty of Versailles, Georges Clemenceau or Lloyd

George?
I believe Georges Clemenceau was the more satisfied of the two leaders. This is
because he was able to negotiate favourable disarmament terms as well as make all
the territorial gains he wanted. The German army was limited to 100,000 men, six
battleships and no airforce. This meant that for the foreseeable future, Germany
would not have the military capacity to launch any sort of offensive against France
and thus Clemenceau was able to enhance the safety of France. He was also returned
Alsace and Lorraine, taken from France by Germany in the Franco-Prussian war of
1870, which the French had wanted back for a long time. They were also given
occupation of the Saarland for 15 years which contained notable German industry, so
this acted as both a buffer and a hit to German economic capability. In summary, the
demlitarisation of Germany and territorial gains made it so France was safer than
before and enjoyed more territory.
On the other hand, Lloyd George also had things to be satisfied about, primarily the
boost to his popularity back in Britain. He was hailed as a ‘hero’ by the newspapers
because the public was generally very happy with what he had accomplished. He had
also gained colonies in Africa from the German Empire. The demilitarization of the
German Navy in particular was welcomed by Lloyd George as British naval supremacy
was a key part of their security and reputation as the ultimate naval superpower.
Georges Clemenceau was not entirely satisfied, however. He was of the opinion that
the reparations Germany was to pay were too low, and that the Germans could
conceivably recover from their economic crumble. This was not ideal as the French
wished that the Germans would never be in a strong position again so that they
would not be invaded. Additionally, Clemenceau originally planned for the Rhineland
to be independent from Germany so as to act as a buffer. In the end, the Rhineland
was only a demlitarised zone, which meant it was not a long-term safety buffer.
Lastly, and most painfully, the proposed Anglo-American safety measures that stated
if France were attacked again both the USA and Great Britain would come to their
aid, was not ratified by American Congress and thus there was no guarantee for
either Great Britain or the USA to aid France in crisis. In short, there were still flaws in
the French defenses despite other successes.
The grievances of Lloyd George were also significant. He felt that reparations were
too high for Germany, and might knock them out economically. Great Britain had
always been good trading partners with Germany and Lloyd George wanted to keep it
that way. High reparations made it harder for Germany to recover and trade with
Britain. He was also worried about future hostility from Germany, as they received
the Treaty as a diktat and may, once they recover, seek revenge against the Big Three
for having created the treaty. Lloyd George was mainly worried about what Great
Britain’s future relations with Germany would be like as a result of the terms of the
Treaty.
In conclusion, I believe Clemenceau was the more satisfied of the two leaders
because he was able to make advances toward both of his key points going into the
conference: a crippled Germany and a secure France. He achieved this through
demlitarisation of Germany and territorial gains. His dissatisfaction could be
overlooked as they relied on a very bellicose and unruly Germany to be concerns. On
the other hand, Lloyd George was able to please the crowds back in Britain but his
personal aims in a moderate peace settlement were unfulfilled. Therefore, Georges
Clemenceau was more satisfied than Lloyd George because his personal aims were
satisfied while Lloyd George’s were not.