[C22] France in the early 2140s

[rfmcdonald]

The broad outlines of French history in the first half of the 2140s have already been laid out: some improvement in standards of living but near-flat economic growth; a growing but ill-serviced offworld network of colonial holdings; a new coalition government tasked with changing this; the future of the European Common Defense Pact left open (1, 2). France's national territory on Earth has changed somewhat, with the annexation of Wallonia and the continuing colonization of Earth's oceans, while immigration continues despite France's economic troubles.

France's problem? Too much of its capital, it seems, is tied up in long-term projects like the extrasolar colonization program, with even distant Tau Ceti housing several French colonies, floating in high gas-giant and superheated-water atmospheres. France, it seems, needs to refocus its goals, developing more modern military forces including space forces to protect its holdings in alliance with friendly powers while actually investing in things that will turn a profit. Eventually, I'm sure, France will profit from the investments it has made in its colonies, and the Turn 9 orders which will see the expansion of France's space service will bring the return closer to the present. In the meantime, it has to live.

(Oh, and the epidemic Bolivian Yellow Fever is spreading worldwide. This'll be interesting.)