Joffre was authorized in 1937 and laid down in November 1938. An earlier start might have put a launched hull in the water before the fall of France in June 1940. A completed or even towable carrier could then have had a different wartime fate, whether in German hands or with Britain. The preference for battleship construction and the slowdown of carrier work instead left the programme unfinished when it mattered most.
Notable Point · 56:12-57:54
Joffre's delay and lost wartime potential
The Joffre class was authorized early enough to matter, but construction delays left France without the carrier force its doctrine required in 1940.