France exercised with the Royal Navy, but slow Bearn usually performed secondary duties and exposed French officers mainly to continuous patrol operations rather than decisive carrier strikes. In the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and Far East, French planners could assume that Britain or the United States would supply the principal carrier force in any major coalition war. In the western Mediterranean, French land bases and a defensive strategy against Italy made shore-based aviation appear sufficient. Together these assumptions weakened the case for an independent, globally capable French carrier arm.
Chapter · 2:06:00-2:16:40
Allied carrier power reduced the pressure to build a French system
French planners could expect British or American carrier support in the oceans where France was least able to operate alone.