On the 5th of August 1914, while the Belgian troops had started to battle German forces near Liège, French forces were moving towards Belgium. Some regiments had already arrived. At the same time, the mobilized men were still being moved in their respective regiments and reinforcing the protection at the borders.
The decree named Viviano ordered the troops to defend the borders at any cost but they should never cross these borders. If they did so, France would look like it is the aggressor in the conflict and this would be dangerous for the public opinion and its support of the war as well as the British support ( which entered the war on the side of the Triple Entente, because, among other reasons, of Germany breaking Belgian independence. )
The same day, new laws were enacted. One of them authorized people from Alsace and Lorraine to volunteer and join the French army. These regions were a German territories since the defeat of 1871 in the Franco Prussian war.
Despite the start of combats in some regions and countries, France is moving some of its pieces and getting ready for the coming engagements. In five days, the Battle of the Frontiers, first of many important confrontations, will start.