A larger Austro-Hungarian fleet and French planning

Would an eight-dreadnought Austro-Hungarian fleet be more of a problem for France than Britain?

Yes, France faces it most directly, but Britain cannot ignore the pressure it places on allied plans and Mediterranean sea power.

French forces in the Mediterranean would face the immediate requirement to contain a larger Austro-Hungarian fleet. Britain would still have to account for the pressure on its ally. The working scenario moves into the late 1910s or early 1920s without World War I, allowing an Austro-Italian naval race to continue. A qualitative competition between those fleets would also leave France facing demands in both the Mediterranean and northern waters. Austro-Hungarian access to Czech industry and Italy's foreign industrial connections could make that competition difficult for French yards to match.