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France had been declining for centuries. In 1700, many(if not most) would have declared France the strongest nation in Europe(strongest army and most populous).

By 1900 they had a smaller industrial base then America, Britain and Germany. They had a weaker army then Germany, and weren't far ahead of Russia or Austria-Hungary. By the outbreak of WWI, they had a smaller population then Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, or the United States.

By 2000, France went from having a gigantic oversea's empire to next to nothing, a weaker economy then they previously had(relative to the rest of the world), a military that many could say(possibly wrongly, but this isn't the point of the topic) wasn't top 5 in the world, and a small shrinking population.

With a POD of 1900, what's the best case for France? What is the largest, strongest, and most influentional they could be?
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