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Historical comparison of the power of Great Britain and France

From the perspective of modern European history, the countries that can be called enemies are the United Kingdom and France. These two countries rose together in modern times, invaded foreign countries together, and even fought together to build the largest colony.

And in the face of key threats, they always stand together. The most typical World War I and World War II, the two countries are also together to deal with Germany. Even after World War II, the two countries weakened together, abandoned their colonies together, and became permanent members together.

So far, the UK and France are similar in terms of population and economy, making them the two most similar world powers. For this reason, many people want to know, which of the two permanent members of the United Kingdom and France is stronger? You might not expect it.

When many people see this question, they usually blurt out that the United Kingdom is stronger. Whether it is a modern colony or a modern military force, the performance of World War I and World War II, the United Kingdom is stronger than France.

Especially for our country, when the Qing government was beaten by Britain and could not fight back, but it defeated France in the Sino-French war, so they all think that Britain is stronger.

And until now, the United Kingdom is the most important ally of the United States, and it also has the influence of the British Commonwealth. Naturally, the United Kingdom is stronger than France.

But these are all appearances, and after 70 years of development in World War II, a lot of changes have taken place in the two countries. And to see whether a country’s comprehensive national strength is strong or not, it mainly depends on three points.

One is the size of the strategic depth, which is more important in a modern country; the other is the strength of industry, which basically represents national strength, which is the foundation.

The reason why Germany is so strong in World War I and World War II, and the reason why the United States is so strong now, is all because of industry; third, it is very important for the comprehensive national strength of a modern country to look at the military strength.

Whether it has the ability to deploy and project troops globally, and whether it has a military advantage, are all manifestations of strong national strength. And based on these three points, let’s see who is stronger between Britain and France.

First of all, from the perspective of strategic depth, France is absolutely ahead.

Although the United Kingdom has the largest territory in the world in modern times and is known as the empire on which the sun never sets, it basically fell after World War II. Now only 240,000 square kilometers of the mainland remain, and the overseas territories are basically lost.

And even if this is 240,000 square kilometers, Northern Ireland and Scotland are still fighting for independence. Once independent, there will be only 100,000 square kilometers left in the whole of the United Kingdom. It is a small country, where is there any strategic depth!

After World War II, although France lost most of its colonies, it still maintained a vast land of 550,000 square kilometers and a bay of more than 120,000 square kilometers. The entire territory is nearly three times that of the United Kingdom.

Moreover, the internal territory is stable, the external territory is unwilling to be independent, and the strategic depth is very broad, which is even better for France.

Secondly, from the industrial point of view, it is also the French victory.

Many people may say that in terms of GDP, the total GDP of the United Kingdom is more than 400 billion US dollars more than that of France every year, and the natural economy is stronger than that of the United Kingdom. But in fact, the UK’s GDP mainly depends on the financial industry.

We can see that the Fortune 500 companies in the UK are all financial companies and banks. In this country, the financial industry is the foundation, but the industry is relatively weak. It is difficult for us to see the high-end products of the British industry.

Moreover, the UK counts the pornography, gambling and drug industry into its GDP, while France does not, so in fact, France’s GDP is comparable to that of the UK.

France is different. France is an industrial country and one of the most complete industrial countries in Europe. The entire industrial technology is very strong, from aircraft, to high-speed rail, to nuclear industry, to manufacturing, to high-tech industries.

France has so far dominated the world, which is definitely not comparable to the United Kingdom. Therefore, in terms of industrial strength, France has also left three streets behind the United Kingdom.

Finally, we look at the military.

Britain used to be an empire on which the sun never sets, with a strong army, but now it has long since fallen, and the entire military is weak. Even the aircraft carrier is almost gone, the military industry is not enough, and it does not have global control and military delivery capabilities.

And France is different. France is the second country in the world besides the United States with global projection of military power, and it has military bases overseas that are second only to the United States.

And it also has a nuclear aircraft carrier. The entire military industry is very complete and advanced, capable of producing advanced fighter planes, aircraft carriers, warships, missiles, etc. The entire system is many times stronger than the United Kingdom.

Therefore, in terms of comprehensive national strength and future combat power, France is much stronger than the United Kingdom, which you may not expect.