Are England and France the mother countries?

Answer 1

A "Mother Country" is the country a person was born in when he or she has emigrated to some other country. A "Mother Country" can also be the country that owns a colony and is thus the mother country of that colony.

So, England is the mother country for people born in England who live in Australia, Russia, the US, or elsewhere, and similarly for France. In terms of colonies, England was the mother country of the colonies of the British Empire, and is sometimes called "mother country" by some in the Commonwealth of Nations. Similarly France was the mother country of the colonies in the French Empire, and may still be called that by some people in those, now independent, countries

But for someone who was born, for example in Germany, or for someone in a former colony of the Netherlands, neither England nor France are "mother countries."

Answer 2

Italy