Should Lyon and Normandie be judged against HMS Hood?

Did HMS Hood make the planned Lyon- and Normandie-class battleships obsolete before they could enter service?

Hood was not the most relevant benchmark because France was planning primarily against Italy, although the Italian Francesco Caracciolo class would also have posed a serious challenge.

Ship comparisons should begin with strategic purpose rather than the most famous foreign design. After Germany's defeat, French naval planning focused heavily on Italy, a concern also visible in the Alpine section of the Maginot Line. The Lyon class would still have delivered a formidable broadside of sixteen 13.4-inch guns, much as later British designers valued a larger number of slightly smaller weapons. The faster, 15-inch-gunned Francesco Caracciolo class was the more relevant and difficult comparison for a French battle fleet.