What might be causing France’s “relative decline”?

The absence to date of a French COVID vaccine has fuelled debate in France over the country’s perceived relative decline , or déclassement . But France also displays many other signs of relative decline: deindustrialisation, trade deficit, absence of large new technology companies, market share losses, declining living standards relative to other countries, etc. What explanations can we think of for a decline in France’s global standing ? Low skills among the labour force and young people, especially in science subjects, which is correlated with a low degree of corporate modernisation, deindustrialisation, market share losses and a low employment rate; Low public and private spending on R&D, which is also correlated with a low degree of modernisation, weak market shares and a low employment rate; Insufficient financing of start-ups and technology companies, which is related to high risk aversion among savers.