Why would we want 300 millions inhabitants in France ? That's what we would have with the density of the Netherlands.
Why couldn't France be on top of leisure, urban transports, ecology, natural ecosystems, technology, political innovation, and even military defense, with 70 million inhabitants ?
Worlwide politics are biased, always considering GDP first, instead of a myriad of more relevant indicators.
That would obviously benefit its reach.
If France wanted to export its culture abroad then it should invest in making some kick-ass games and movies, not breed more.
US successfully exported its culture here because it made the best entertainment in the world and we couldn't get enough of it, not because it was a numerous population.
Larger domestic market, more money, more eyeballs, more creators.
Why make a $100 million video game like GTA 5 for 200 million French speakers when you can address the market of 2 billion global English speakers?
(Of course, they do localize it to French after developing it in English. But not everything gets localized and usually it’s targeted primarily at the English market.)
Meh, yo a degree yes, but not always. Korean entertainment had some international smash hits recently that went viral like Parasite, Squid Game, and All Of Us Are Dead, and they were all in Korean not in English. Quality mattes more than language.
and to a degree France has this too with their Institut Francais (French institute) ... but of course with a negligible efficacy.
that said, as far as I know, Paris is still the top top top number 1 travel destination.
As Musk likes to point out, Japan already has adult diapers outselling baby diapers. I don't think running out of resources is a risk.
Because capitalists want more. More workers, more consumers, more sales, more demand for housing, more demand for goods, more profit.