French battlecruisers instead of slow battleships

What if France built battlecruisers rather than its historical pre-war battleships?

They would improve overseas commerce raiding, but France would lack the battleships needed for Mediterranean confrontation.

Replacing Courbet- and Bretagne-era battleships with Invincible- and Lion-like battlecruisers gives France fast ships well suited to scouting, trade protection, and attacks on enemy commerce. Those missions support the French Empire and reward speed and cruising reach. The Mediterranean creates a different requirement because geography can confine fleets and force them to contest narrow waters. A navy without true battleships may then lack the armour and staying power needed to hold a battle line. A successful overseas cruiser can still be the wrong substitute for a fleet's regional capital-ship mission.