Could France overcome its naval manpower shortage?

How could France have found enough personnel for a larger interwar navy?

It could have widened colonial recruitment or created a naval Foreign Legion using experienced foreign sailors and officers.

France could have drawn on colonial recruitment and on experienced German and Russian naval personnel seeking employment after the First World War. A French naval Foreign Legion could have drawn on those recruits without being entrusted with the battleships. Manpower was a real constraint, although a deliberate personnel policy offered ways to enlarge the force. Wider recruitment could have helped crew the larger cruiser force required by France's global commitments.