Germany was the plausible Atlantic opponent, but a one-on-one Franco-German naval war was very unlikely. France already possessed a stronger fleet than Germany and could expect the much larger Royal Navy to lead the campaign. French capital ships and heavy cruisers therefore added complete surface-raider hunting groups rather than duplicating every British asset. Existing British battlecruisers also weaken the claim that French fast capital ships were designed solely to catch the Deutschland class. By the late 1930s, close Anglo-French naval integration made France a force enabler whose ships could expand coalition coverage and give Paris a stronger voice in allied planning.
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France's Atlantic role was to multiply Royal Navy hunting groups
Against Germany, French capital ships and heavy cruisers would add raider-hunting groups to a closely integrated British-led Atlantic campaign.