sentences:  It is named after the main British and French originators of the treaty, Richard Cobden MP and Michel Chevalier.In a Parliamentary session of 1859, Cobden's friend and political ally John Bright asked why, instead of spending money on armaments against a possible French invasion, did not the Government attempt to persuade French Emperor Napoleon III to trade freely with Britain.Upon reading this speech Chevalier wrote to Cobden and arranged to meet him in England.