Europe can be said to be one of the birthplaces of modern civilization, although Europe declined after World War II, but until now European countries still have global influence and strength, especially with two permanent members of the United Nations: Britain and France.
As the leading force that once stirred up the European situation, the two sides are also a pair of "old wrongdoers" in history, because the two countries have repeatedly fought over European hegemony. So today, who is stronger in Britain and France?
In terms of political influence and economy, although it is similar in many respects, it is certainly slightly better in the United Kingdom overall.
First, historically, both sides had extensive overseas colonies. Even after the end of World War II, the colonial empire system of European countries collapsed rapidly, but the two old powers of Britain and France still had great influence in their respective colonies.
For example, the UK is still the theoretical leader of the Commonwealth, and the Commonwealth is the basic plate of Britain's global influence; France has vast colonies in Africa, and France is also known as the "Emperor of Africa".
Coupled with the aforementioned mention that Britain and France are among the five permanent members, this is almost comparable.
But in terms of language and currency, Britain is clearly more widely used than France. Although the official language used in many African countries is still French, and the currency is also legal tender, it is limited to this, far less than the world leader of English and British pounds.
From an economic point of view, Britain and France are the sixth and seventh largest economies in the world, respectively. Today, the UK economy is over $3,000 billion, while France's economy is close to $2.8 trillion.
Obviously, Britain and France are among the world's most important economies, but Britain is also economically stronger than France.
Therefore, in terms of influence, although the two sides are similar, the United Kingdom is stronger. However, if you carefully study the direction of industry, military and science and technology, France is probably no less than Britain.
Many friends may be surprised by this, after all, in World War II, France surrendered not long after the war, while Britain fought the entire World War II and persisted until the last moment, and it is precisely because of this that Churchill has the qualifications and status to become the "third giant" other than Stalin and Roosevelt.
Of course, at the end of World War II, Britain's military strength was certainly stronger than that of France, but not necessarily now. Why is Britain inferior to France today industrially and militarily? In fact, this is directly related to the different policy lines taken by Britain and France after the end of World War II.
Let's start with the UK. The relationship between Britain and the United States has always been very special, the United States was once a British colony in history, and the two countries are very similar in many aspects such as cultural traditions and ideas.
——Even some of the scientific and technological achievements of Britain and the United States are shared, which makes Britain gradually become dependent on the United States after World War II, which leads to sometimes some British interests still need the United States to help protect.
Therefore, the international status of Britain and the United States has gradually reversed in the subtle, from the original Britain as the suzerainty and the United States as a colony, to now Britain has been revolving around the United States.
This will create a deformity for Britain: that is, Britain has almost peace of mind in terms of national security, because it can be maintained by the United States, and over time, Britain no longer pays attention to the development of military power.
From the end of the last century to the beginning of this century, Britain also learned from the United States to embark on the road of no return to industrial hollowing, although Britain is still a world-class power, but the industrial capacity is not high, and the military strength has become extremely weak.
For example, the Imperial Navy that once never set under Megatron now has only two aircraft carriers and a few guided-missile destroyers left, so the British Navy can only be regarded as second-rate in terms of scale and combat effectiveness.
However, the situation is different in France, which had a difficult time after the end of World War II, but with the return of Charles de Gaulle to French power, it began to move towards a real recovery.
Because de Gaulle has always adhered to an independent foreign policy, France is not almost unilaterally dependent on the United States like Britain, and France believes that in order to truly protect itself, it must have a sound industrial system and a strong military force.
Therefore, France is now much stronger industrially than Britain, and France can build anything and has independent intellectual property rights. If there is a war, France's military capabilities are still very impressive, which is also unmatched by Britain today.
In fact, to some extent, there are only three countries that can really beat France in the world, they are China, Russia and the United States.
These three countries were able to defeat France because of the existence of a complete military industrial system and independent intellectual property rights in advanced weapons. In addition to the three major powers of China, the United States and Russia, France can be the fourth in the world in terms of global influence, military strength and military industrial level.
Not to mention, after the United Kingdom left the EU, France has an absolute advantage within the EU. Although Germany is now the EU speaker, Germany cannot replace France, because Germany is not a permanent member of the United Nations.
Moreover, Germany, as the source of two world wars, has attracted worldwide attention and vigilance in the development of military strength. The joke about the weak combat effectiveness of the Bundeswehr is probably clear to anyone who knows a little about military affairs.
As a permanent member and victor in World War II, France has almost no restrictions on military development, not to mention that France also has nuclear weapons and its ability to project nuclear weapons remotely, which determines that France has long been invincible.
No matter how the international situation changes, France will be a military power in the world that cannot be underestimated.
Of course, there are also some criticized problems in France, such as the gradual increase in internal social divisions, and the surge in the number of ethnic minorities, and the introduction of population has indeed solved the problem of labor shortage to a certain extent, but it also directly affects the social stability of France.
But these problems are not unique to France, but also in the United Kingdom, but not so obviously.
In short, the international status of France and Britain has long been transformed, and the former empire that never sets has become weaker, but France, which was suppressed by Britain for a long time, shows a brighter future and potential than Britain.