Would an Anglo-French standoff produce a new Channel Squadron or a large Mediterranean deployment?
Short answerBoth, with a stronger British presence at Gibraltar and possibly conventional submarines to contain French movements.
NotesAn Anglo-French crisis would demand both a Channel squadron and a Mediterranean deployment. Britain would probably reinforce Gibraltar to constrain movement between the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Diesel-electric submarines stationed there could make the chokepoint more dangerous. Geography divides a fleet across home-water defence, surveillance, and containment missions.