France lost much of its traditional demographic superiority over its rivals during the 19th century, and it was argued that a good reason for why France lagged behind their German rivals in the run up to WW2 in all phases of war was because of this birthrate decline.
How would this decline be fixed? Would the lack of a drop in birthrate mean that France could become the pre-eminent world power after WW1 and perhaps be more prepared for WW2?
I've heard it said that the massive amount of casualties suffered in the Napoleonic Wars played a part in the birthrate drop, but other nations also had these huge casualties, and some lost more than France, and still ended up without a big drop. Another cause might be the practice enshrined by Napoleonic Law where land had to be divided equally among sons rather than just given to the firstborn, which could have made multiple children deincentivized in landholding families. You could even make an argument that the advancement of women, while stifled by the Napoleonic Code, was more of a social phenomenon due to the French Revolution, and as in all societies where there is an advancement in women's place in society, there is a corresponding drop in birthrate.
But I'm not really swayed by any of these arguments. Any thoughts?