A third Clemenceau and French carrier availability

If France built a third Clemenceau-class carrier, when would it leave service and what might replace it?

A third ship commissioned around 1965 might last until roughly 2003, encouraging a second Charles de Gaulle-class carrier around 2004-2005 and giving France steadier two-carrier coverage.

The estimate follows the real class sequence: Clemenceau served from 1961 to 1997 and Foch from 1963 to 2000. Extending that rhythm suggests a third ship entering service around 1965 and retiring around 2003. France would then have a stronger reason to build a second Charles de Gaulle-class carrier a few years after the first. Two nuclear carriers would reduce the capability gaps caused when a single ship enters maintenance. The panel also notes that such a French example would strengthen arguments elsewhere, including Britain, that two carriers do not provide uninterrupted availability. Even two carriers would still have periods without an available ship.