Also, you have to factor in that when the coffers are empty, France may be more willing to sell weapons abroad... So maybe it's not France that sees that harm.
http://www.france24.com/en/20150503-arms-sales-becoming-fran...
I note I have down-voted responses to replies that do not have further responses. Hence, from my point of view, it seems when the argument got difficult, down-voting was resorted to..
note: this comment was also down-voted within 5 minutes, again without comment. Those who never comment, never run the risk of malicious down-votes.
> I note I have down-voted responses to replies that do not have further responses
by "have" I mean, I have received down-votes, not I have down-voted them.
Not surprisingly, it helps the economy: people dont lose their savings, jobs and houses when they get sick in Europe.
> I'd rather have a less strong economy
There are plenty of countries/citizens that can't dictate what they want.
Do competing developing countries have this choice? Why not?