Sorry but you sound neocon again :-)

Again the question is, what kind of "strong" do you mean, what applications of military power do you think of? The two you have given, France in Africa and Britain in the Falklands, are neither ones I would wish more - Thatcher notably blew the opportunity of a peaceful settlement (sinking of the Belgrano); France's interventions usually have more to do with the immediate security of French expats and French businesses than ensuring democracy, and  short-term thinking usually leads to new problems only years or months later.

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}