French armor development was impaired by the German invasion, so French tech is usually a bit behind the competition. Complexity of use and the low number of crew per vehicle tends to lower performance. That said, some French mechs still retain decent qualities.
French mechs tend to posses some unique characteristics, such as head mounted MGs. They are a bit of a novelty item in some cases. In other ways, however, the novelties can be a drag, such as the lack of any hull MG.
In terms of mech weapons, the French selection is low, but decent quality. They lean towards artillery and assault rather than long range anti-armor. Like the British, the French have a flare for very medieval style mech melee weapons.
The French also make some extraordinarily heavy shields that are great for defense, but dreadful for mobility. A close range strike w/ a mech shield is devastating - if a vehicle is strong enough to wield it.
Based on the Char B1-Bis.
Based on the Somua tank.
There are not many redeeming features to Italian mechs, other than the fact that many of them will come your way for free -having been abandoned by their crews. In a desperate situation, they can act as filler for armored formations, but should be replaced w/ superior alternatives at the earliest convenience. Do not expect high crew survival rates.
Italian mech selection stays mostly in the light armor and recon range, with few heavy vehicles on offer. Italian walking armor made some minor forays into destroyers and multipeds due to the relative ease of manufacturing those over anthro mechs.
One area where Italian manufacturing did not fail mech warfare is in developing some very decent ranged weapons. Italian mech melee weapons are very fanciful and beautiful -more for parades and pageantry rather than actual combat use, but they do benefit from quick strikes due to lightness of material, if not actual attack power.