French substantive naval rank differed from the US practice of linking higher acting rank to a particular post. Although France possessed full admirals, most interwar chiefs of naval staff were vice admirals, with Francois Darlan the important exception. They competed for funding and attention with French army marshals and generals, while Royal Navy First Sea Lords carried both higher rank and greater political weight. Submarines and battleships were easier to defend because they already had prewar institutions or wartime experience behind them. A new carrier arm and the standardisation of French shipbuilding demanded political authority that this naval leadership structure struggled to supply.
Notable Point · 38:12-42:22
French naval rank and political weight
French naval chiefs usually entered national funding debates as vice admirals facing army marshals, generals, and more politically established British naval leaders.