The Rafale is a Dassault jet, although radically different to the Mirage 2000 which is its predecessor.
What I remember about Dassault is their III and V (whence the 2000 came) getting solidly beaten by the subsonic British Sea Harrier way back in 1982.
Apparently going up against the F4 and F15 in air training helped the British pilots own a supersonic jet. The SHAR did rather well against the F15 as well ...
So what did Britain do? Retire all of them and hope for the F35. Bah.
The Argentine Mirage IIIs were operating from the mainland and were on the end of their legs without midair refueling. They were limited to one, maybe two high-speed passes and were forced to head back with bingo fuel. The Harriers were much closer to their carriers, had loiter time and were at an advantage staying low and slow.
If the IIIs got close and dirty with the Harriers, they were unpleasantly surprised by the all-aspect Aim 9 Lima (a big step-up in capability at the time), where the Magic missile they carried was limited to tail engagements.
The Brits did well with the HArrier in low-level dog fighting against the Argie Mirage ....but they had the better missile, and has been pointed out, by the time the Argie jets got there, they were critical on fuel.
The Frogs are flying some very good stuff. Meanwhile back at the ranch, it's apparent that the "F" in F-35, stands for "flounder;" technically and commercially.
Falklands glory aside, the Sea Harrier would be pulp against any decently equipped fighter, so you can’t really blame the Brits for wanting something newer.