Why did Klemens von Metternich want France to remain a significant power after the Napoleonic Wars?

Klemens von Metternich advocated for France to remain a significant power following the Napoleonic Wars primarily to maintain the European balance of power.21

Metternich viewed a stable France as a necessary counterweight to the growing influence of Russia. He deeply distrusted the Russian emperor Alexander I and feared that if France were completely eliminated or annihilated, the rest of Europe would be left at the mercy of Russian expansionism.21

By ensuring France retained an equal status among the great powers, Metternich successfully created a common front—comprising Austria, Great Britain, and France—that could effectively hold the territorial ambitions of Russia and Prussia in check. This diplomatic strategy was central to his efforts to reconstruct a stable, conservative political order in Europe and prevent any single nation from achieving hegemony.234