Franco - British Union

So after much lurking around TLs, I am considering writing my own. After a bit of research, I found this excellent PoD:

http://postalheritage.org.uk/page/3544/Anglo-French-Union

Basically what this would have done is create a unified British-French state. From what I've read, the French PM was a heavy supporter of it, and resigned when it fell through.

So I have a few questions to ask. How would the populace of France and GB respond to such a union, should it suceed? Would it result in more French refugees fleeing to Britain? How would such a union change the German occupation of France, if at all? And perhaps most importantly, should this unified British-French power survive post-WW2, how would it be viewed on the world stage? Would it be the third superpower of the Cold War?

Thanks in advance.
 
I started writing a TL on the subject last year so you are welcome to come aboard and help if you want!

The practical impact of the Union will be rather limoted for a while, beyond a common government and common decision making to a degree. You simply can't expect whole armies and navies to be reorganised in the midst of a war, so a formal "meger" of the armed forces would have to wait post war.

The German occupation of France will be harsher, as it would have if France had fought on. There would have been no Vichy government, but likely some kind of collaborationist government with much lower powers and a lot less credibility.

The Union can survive post war provided that an apporpriate framework for it is established and agreed by all parties. It is likely to be unique in a lot of ways, since any federal framework from say the United States won't be acceptable to all. It is likely that some people would want to use this as an opportunity to push for United States of Europe, an Atlantic Union and other similar ideas. But in the end realists will likely win the arguments, if only because of the sheer complexity that building a framework acceptable to both France and Britain would bring.

The Union has the potential to become a third great superpower in the cold war era and beyond. Many mistakes made in either France or Britain OTL can be avoided and the sheer weight of the Union itself provides a large enough base to do a lot of things. Still in order for the Union to become a superpower you need the following things:
-A Franco-British economic miracle, Britain has to get the same growth rates which France had OTL. Something similar to OTL Germany or Japan has to happen to both countries and last for as long as possible.
-An effective Union level government with clear responsibilities
-A willingness to invest massively in game changing technological fields. This is mainly in order to compensate for the Union lower population relative to the US and USSR. The Union has to become a key player in the jet age, the electronics revolution and the space race.
-A sphere of influence with strong economic, military and political allies. Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand are good candidates. European allies like Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and later on West Germany are others.
-A strong military. The Franco-British Navy needs carriers, the Army must be a strong professional force fielding at least half a million soldiers, the Air Force has to get strong all around capabilities up to and including strategic bombing capability.
-Bases all over the globe. That's the easiest one,the current imperials remains of France and Britain already fit the bill.
-No distractions. By this I mean no involvment in unwinnable colonial wars and no significant interl dissent at home.
 
I read some of your TL and I don't think I could do nearly as great a job as youve done on it so far :) Good job!

I'm still not sure if I'm going to write a TL centering around the British -French Union, but if I do, this info will be of enourmous help. Thanks much!
 
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