Chapter 641

The French restarted the colonial development plan, which still caused an uproar. With the success of Austria, no one can be sure that the French will fail.

In recent years, France has gradually been at a disadvantage in international competition. The biggest problem is that domestic economic development has encountered a bottleneck and cannot keep up with the pace of Britain and Austria.

Especially in the last two years, the economic growth rate of France has dropped sharply, while the economies of Britain and Austria have continued to soar.

It can be seen from the economic aggregate that Britain, which was originally surpassed by the French, is now showing signs of catching up.

This is not a small problem. The total population of the British Isles is only more than 31 million, while the current population of France is nearly 60 million.

Simply calculating per capita income, the income of the French people is only 60% of that of the British.

This is mainly due to the hindrance of the Italian region, especially the southern Italian region, where the local agricultural economy has hardly developed in these years.

If the total industrial volume is calculated, the gap will be even greater. The industrial volume of Greater France is less than half that of the British and less than forty percent of that of Austria.

Over time, this gap continues to widen. In this era, people have not realized the power of industry, but they can still clearly feel the lack of money in their pockets.

At its peak, France's fiscal revenue was close to that of the British. During the Napoleon III era, it was still possible to compete with the British in arms race. Now, France's fiscal revenue is a little higher than that of the British mainland.

This is the effect of the butterfly effect. The Italian region is divided into two parts. In the peak period, France + half Italy + colonies, it is not surprising that the fiscal revenue is closer to the British.

However, there is a lot of water in it, and the real economy accounts for a very small proportion. The processing and manufacturing industry accounts for only about 10% of the French economy. The rest is either agriculture or the financial industry, as well as some service industries. the largest proportion.

What is false is false, and it will not be turned into reality because of beautiful lies.

Since the last economic crisis, France's bubble economy has been burst. In the absence of an industrial pillar, the financial industry alone cannot support an empire.

...

As the biggest beneficiary of the development of the colony, the Vienna government is undoubtedly the most aware of the interests contained in it.

If the interests are not large enough, even if Franz insists, Austrian Africa will not develop to the point where it is today.

In layman's terms, once the colonies are developed, there will be no worries about industrial raw materials, and there will be a market for commodity sales.

Now the market in Austrian Africa is no weaker than that of Spain. All the colonies of Austria combined, this market is almost the same as that of the Commonwealth of Pubo.

This is just the beginning. In any case, there are more than 20 million square kilometers. The development potential is not comparable to the Commonwealth of Pubo.

It is by relying on this private land and the large local market that Austria can leap up and become the world's largest industrial power.

Since the French restarted their colonial program, the Austrian government has been wary. The French Empire is now very large. If the last shortcoming is solved, it will also be a threat to Austria.

Economy Minister Reinhard Haldegen: "France's economic development is constrained by industrial raw materials and is now approaching its limit. Now the French government's restart of the colonial development plan is obviously a self-help movement.

If the French plan succeeds, our attempt to crush France economically is in vain.

The European continent is too small to accommodate so many great powers. With the development of industry, conflicts between countries will continue to increase in the future, and there may even be a war that sweeps the European continent.

If we cannot take the opportunity to suppress the French, the French will inevitably collide with us in the future. This cannot be prevented by personal power.

For the long-term stability of the empire, it is necessary for us to eliminate this hidden danger in advance. I propose action against the French to sabotage their colonial development plans. "

If you are not vigilant, you can't. Who made Napoleon arrogant? Even after all these years, the Vienna government has never let down its vigilance.

Foreign Secretary Weisenberg: "I object, the French colony development plan has failed once, and it is also unknown whether it will succeed this time.

We cannot set France and Austria against each other in advance because of uncertain risks.

If we do it because there may be a threat, then the Commonwealth, Russia, and the United Kingdom are all threats. Are we still going to be the enemy of the whole world? "

Reinhard Haldegen, the economy minister, retorted: "This is different, the British are a sea-power state, a threat to us is great, but not lethal.

The Pope Federation and the Russian Empire are hostile to each other and have consumed most of their energy, we just need to play a balance between them.

The only exception is France, which is a right-of-way country like us, and its military strength is very close. Our main advantage is economy.

If the French make up for this shortcoming, the French government is likely to embark on the road of external expansion again. We can't watch Napoleon's past repeat itself! "

Colonial Secretary Stephen: "It's not that serious. Colonial development is not an overnight problem, it requires continuous investment for decades.

Judging from the current situation, the French people are not keen on the development of colonies, and the French government can only invest limited funds in the development of colonies.

Everyone knows what the French colonies were like. They are basically deserts and wastelands, and there are not many areas suitable for human habitation.

The colonies in French America and Asia are too far apart and small in size, so they can be ignored for the time being, and the French should not care about them in the short term.

The ones with real development potential are actually French Algeria, Egypt, half of Tunisia, and half of Morocco. These areas are also part of the coastal land.

According to the information we have collected, these areas are relatively scarce in mineral resources, and many rich mines have been discovered, most of which are difficult to develop due to natural conditions.

The area suitable for agricultural production will not exceed 400,000 square kilometers at most. Even if it is to develop the plantation economy, it is unknown whether it can succeed under the competition from the outside world. "

(Note that the fertile soil area suitable for agricultural production in the above countries: Algeria 210,000 square kilometers, Morocco 220,000 square kilometers, Tunisia 70,000 square kilometers, Egypt 35,000 square kilometers)

The desert empire is such a tragedy. The French occupy less than 30% of the territory of the African continent, and they occupy three-quarters of the desert on the African continent.

In addition to being relatively large in size, the third colonial empire in the world is not necessarily as profitable as the Dutch, at least in the Southeast Asia region.

Prime Minister Felix: "The French cannot be underestimated. Their heritage is still very solid. If the French government is determined, they will have the financial resources to complete the colonial development plan.

Not to mention the development of all the colonies, as long as Algeria, Morocco and Egypt are developed, the overall national strength of the French can increase by 20 to 30 percent.

This is also a threat to us. But that's a question of the future, and it's too early to talk about that.

It is too extreme to directly destroy the French colonial development plan. The matter has not yet reached that point, and it is more than worth the loss to fight against the French in advance.

Now it's enough to cause them some trouble secretly and delay their colony development plans. The longer the delay, the better for us. "

Destruction is inevitable. Britain, France and Austria are allies and competitors. If you can suppress one of them, everyone will not mind the black hand.

Franz nodded in agreement, even if he wanted to turn his face, he didn't need to be in such a hurry.

The French talents announced a plan, but they have not yet implemented it. They can wait until they are halfway through.

Destruction in the early stage is just like what the French government did during the colonial development period in Austria.

It's just that the French were busy expanding their colonies at that time, and their strength on the African continent was limited, and there were not many resources that could be invested.

Later, after a large number of immigrants poured into the African continent, Austria's strength on the African continent increased sharply. Even if everyone wanted to destroy it, they couldn't do it.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg proposed: "The Paris Conference is about to end, when everyone's sphere of influence is demarcated, and if you want to take action, you must consider the positions of each country.

At present, our core is to strive for enough development time. If you want to delay the French colonial plan, it is best to start from the economy and avoid direct military conflict. "

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