They're the 8th largest manufacturing country in the world. Is that industrial superpower territory? I don't think so. Italy out-manufacturers them by about 10%.
I'd say so. as I alluded to in my comment, in aerospace and defense they're very much among the top three. A country that competes if not leads India and China despite having twenty times smaller a population I think deserves that label. And rather than use Italy to drag France down in a comparison I'd say it's a good opportunity for people to recognize that Italy itself is quite underrated. The country has a remarkably resiliant private sector in particular.
