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French Economy Essay

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At the beginning of World War II, France’s economy was similar to many other European countries also making efforts to recover and grow from the devastation of the First World War. However, one difference for France was the type of military strategy the government choose to invest in for the future. In the 1930s, the French administration invested huge sums of money into the defense budget. French leadership granted 3 billion francs for the construction of the Maginot Line. This was a significant amount of funding at the time and some experts estimate the actual cost after construction climbed to well over 7 billion francs. The construction effort was extensive and the design was intended to be sustainable in combat for long periods of …show more content…

Prior to May 1940, the combined French and British forces had almost one thousand more tanks than the Germans. There were several leaders within the French government, like Charles de Gaulle, who desperately desired to invest more of the French defense budget on increased tank manufacturing. The two most favored French battle tanks produced at the start of the war were the Char B and the Somua S35. Both of these tanks were relatively expensive to produce, with the Char B costing 1.5 million francs and the Somua S35 costing 982,000 francs each to produce. Both tanks were superior to the German Panzer, with the Char B being a heavily armored battle tank designed for an offensive role of advancing against prepared defenses and breaking through enemy lines. The Char B was favored by some of the leadership, but it was extremely expensive to produce and was considered an offensive tank, which was not considered well-suited to integrate into the France’s defensive based military strategy. The Somua S35 was also favored by some of the French leadership due its increased armor and powerful main gun and because it was nearly as fast as the Panzer on the battlefield. Deciding the best overall tank that would support France’s military strategy was major concern, with some preferring strong heavy battle tanks and

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