Man, I remember using Eutelsat to send and receive E-Mails in Afghanistan in the early 2000s. Of course back then we needed a giant receiver in the back yard of the compound. It was slow as hell, incredibly expensive, but the only reliable way of getting an internet connection after the end of the (first) Taliban regime. The world really has changed so much in the last twenty years, unfortunately more for worse than for better in my opinion.
As a Dutchman living in Germany I can attest to the immense difference that dubbing makes. While even young children in the Netherlands consume tons of English language media and have done so for decades, their peers in Germany generally get only dubbed versions. This leads to a lackluster immersion when “properly” learning English.
While I agree with you that it was a very wise decision by the Général to retain an independent nuclear deterrent and develop modern aircraft independently, the French tank development has been sorely lacking. There are roughly five times as many Leopard IIs in service as there are Leclercs. I hope the joint development of a next generation tank can deliver, as European armies really should try to work towards a common and independent development of systems.
This will really be an interesting question for the so-called global south. Since most countries there are generally considered to politically align with China/Russia due to “anti imperialism”, it’s going to be interesting to see if they remain on the side of Russia although this is now the side of the US or whether they alternatively remain opposed to the US but find themselves on the same side as the Europeans.