How much blame belonged to the navy rather than politicians?

How many of the French Navy's problems were its own fault rather than the politicians' fault?

The responsibility is placed at roughly fifty-fifty.

Political turnover and army-first priorities constrained the service, but naval leaders also kept moving from one attractive idea to another without following through. If the navy would not acknowledge that it was in difficulty, politicians had less reason to impose sustained reform. The exchange prevents the institutional critique from becoming a one-sided excuse for naval decisions.