France is our competitor?
Why not compare them to someone they're on athe same level with... Texas or California.
We smoked them years ago.
France is our competitor in many areas, and they do better than they would otherwise, because they cheat.
They win many more lucrative contracts from foreign governments than we do, because they bribe them freely, whereas we have laws against bribery.
They do fairly well against us on trade because we play by the rules, enforced by the WTO, and they constantly cheat. They are massively protectionist. The WTO is, to all appearances, controlled by France and its friends. They constantly help each other out and rule against us.