Ihe aircraft carriers are like gendarmes: they come in pairs. During decades of the Cold War, France respected this rule by sailing both the Foch and the Clemenceau. Militarily comparable to our country, the United Kingdom has chosen this minimal option by offering itself a pair of twin diesel-powered ships, the queen elizabeth (operational since December 2017) and the Prince of Wales (October 2021). For 6 billion euros, the Royal Navy has the tools to intervene in two simultaneous theaters of operations. Above all, the British government will always have one of these ships on hand, even when the other is unavailable for maintenance.
We can, of course, live without an aircraft carrier. This often happens in France, when the Charles of Gaul…