France, Italy, and the cost of naval parity

France wanted to avoid an expensive naval race with Italy. Numerical parity nevertheless left different demands on the two fleets because France had commitments in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Far East. A French fleet matched to Italy had to choose between concentrating in the Mediterranean and protecting overseas possessions. Covering both would require Royal Navy support. The alternative proposed in this analysis was parity with Japan or an allowance above Italy's, but the Italian delegation would not accept a lower allowance than France.