biblatex and footfullcite behaviour depending on babel option...?

Question

I noticed a surprising behaviour of the footfullcite command while preparing a beamer presentation. My mwe contains two files (.tex and .bib), see below. If I compile the .tex file with the line

\usepackage[english]{babel}

I get reference numbers that are not properly aligned with the reference text (more precisely, I would like to remove the superscript look of the reference number and add that I believe this way of numbering is not normal as when the number exceeds 99, it overlaps with the reference text).

However, if I use the option french:

\usepackage[french]{babel}

then the numbers and the text are perfectly aligned: a beautiful harmony !

As you can see, I tried to force the language to british in the biblatex options... but it did not change anything.

One way around I found was to use the otherlanguage package and change the definition of my \bib command but this is not satisfying as my bibliographic references will be in French ! Is there any explanation on why babel options could impact the reference numbering ?

tex file:

\documentclass[8pt]{beamer}
\usepackage[english]{babel}
\usepackage[%
style=verbose,autocite=footnote,maxnames=1,firstinits=true,
babel=hyphen,hyperref=true,abbreviate=false,doi=true,
backend=bibtex,language=british]{biblatex}
\bibliography{zotero_bib}

\newcommand{\bib}[1]{\phantom{\footfullcite{#1}}}
\begin{document}
\frame[t]{
\frametitle{title}
\begin{itemize}
    \item 1
        \begin{itemize}
            \item to be cited\footnotemark
            \item to be cited too\footnotemark
        \end{itemize}
\end{itemize}
% citations 
\addtocounter{footnote}{0}\bib{black_interaction_2006}\bib{shaw_dynamic_2006}
}

\end{document}

bib file:

@article{black_interaction_2006,
    title = {Interaction of a {Whirling} {Rotor} with a {Vibrating} {Stator} across a {Clearance} {Annulus}:},
    shorttitle = {Interaction of a {Whirling} {Rotor} with a {Vibrating} {Stator} across a {Clearance} {Annulus}},
    url = {https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1243/JMES_JOUR_1968_010_003_02},
    doi = {10.1243/JMES_JOUR_1968_010_003_02},
    language = {en},
    urldate = {2020-03-10},
    journal = {Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science},
    author = {Black, H. F.},
    month = feb,
    year = {2006},
    note = {Publisher: SAGE PublicationsSage UK: London, England}
}
@article{shaw_dynamic_2006,
    title = {The {Dynamic} {Response} of {Tuned} {Impact} {Absorbers} for {Rotating} {Flexible} {Structures}},
    volume = {1},
    issn = {1555-1415},
    url = {https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/computationalnonlinear/article/1/1/13/464900/The-Dynamic-Response-of-Tuned-Impact-Absorbers-for},
    doi = {10.1115/1.1991872},
    language = {en},
    number = {1},
    urldate = {2020-03-10},
    journal = {Journal of Computational and Nonlinear Dynamics},
    author = {Shaw, S. W. and Pierre, C.},
    month = jan,
    year = {2006},
    note = {Publisher: American Society of Mechanical Engineers Digital Collection},
    pages = {13--24}
}

Answer 1

Biblatex follows the style for the language used by babel/polyglossia (and csquotes).

Footnote numbers are superscripts in english, british, danish, italian, ...

Why not use \footfullcite directly?

An experiment:

Do you need to start with 1 on each slide?

The French style is more 'open', and easier on the eye, I find.

MWE

\begin{filecontents*}{\jobname.bib}
@incollection{lorenz,
author = {Katharina G Lorenz},
year = {2014},
title = {The Casa del Menandro in Pompeii},
subtitle ={Rhetoric and the Topology of Roman Wall Paintings},
pages={183-210},
editor = {J Elsner and M Meyer},
booktitle = {Art and Rhetoric in Roman Culture},
publisher = {Cambridge},}
@INCOLLECTION{auler:hiller:2011,
 AUTHOR = {Jost Auler AND Petra Hiller},
 TITLE = {Ein Kinderschuh des 19. Jahrhunderts aus Dor-ma-gen--Stür-zel-berg, Rhein-Kreis Neuss},
 KEYWORDS = {Schuh, Kind, Dormagen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, 19. Jahrhundert},
 CROSSREF = {radmacher:kronsbein:2011},
 PAGES = {65--73},
 GENDER = {pp},
 SHORTTITLE = {Kinderschuh},
 GENDER = {pp},
}
@COLLECTION{radmacher:kronsbein:2011,
 EDITOR = {Franz-Josef Radmacher AND Stefan Kronsbein},
 TITLE = {Archiv und Erinnerung im Rhein-Kreis Neuss},
 TITLEADDON = {Festschrift für Karl Emsbach},
 FESTSCHRIFT = {Karl Emsbach},
 DATE = {2011},
 PUBLISHER = {Kreisheimatbund},
 SERIES = {Schriftenreihe des Kreisheimatbundes Neuss},
 NUMBER = {18},
 LOCATION = {Neuss},
 LANGUAGE = {german},
 GENDER = {pm},
 }
@book{cicero,
  author       = {Cicero, Marcus Tullius},
  title        = {De natura deorum. {"U}ber das Wesen der G{"o}tter},
  date         = 1995,
  editor       = {Blank-Sangmeister, Ursula},
  translator   = {Blank-Sangmeister, Ursula},
  afterword    = {Thraede, Klaus},
  language     = {langlatin and langgerman},
  publisher    = {Reclam},
  location     = {Stuttgart},
  langid       = {german},
  indextitle   = {De natura deorum},
  shorttitle   = {De natura deorum},
  annotation   = {A bilingual edition of Cicero's \emph{De natura deorum}, with
                  a German translation. Note the format of the \texttt{language}
                  field in the database file, the concatenation of the
                  \texttt{editor} and \texttt{translator} fields, and the
                  \texttt{afterword} field},
}
%\end{filecontents*}
\documentclass[12pt]{beamer}
\usepackage{fontspec}
\setmainfont{Noto Serif}
\usepackage[french]{babel}
\usepackage{csquotes}
\newcommand\abibname{ext-verbose}
\newcommand\abibstyle{style=\abibname}\usepackage[
    \abibstyle , 
        ]{biblatex}
\newcommand\mynote{biblatex option used: \texttt{\abibstyle}.}
\defbibnote{abibnote}{\mynote}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\pagecolor{red!3}
\addbibresource{\jobname.bib}
\newcommand\vpsng{s}
\newcommand\vpspl{}
\newcommand\bstrnotavailable{\texttt{<not available>}}
\newcommand\confirmcsname[4]{%
{\color{blue}\textbackslash \texttt{#1}}: \ifcsdef{#1}{#3 \csname #1\endcsname{#2} #4}{\bstrnotavailable}}
\newcommand\testthecites[2]{%
\textbf{\large Example citations -- \abibname}
\begin{itemize}
%\item \confirmcsname{cite}{#1}{}{}\hfill x

\item \confirmcsname{textcite}{#1}{as}{say#2,}\hfill x

%\item \confirmcsname{parencite}{#1}{as noted}{.}\hfill x

%\item \confirmcsname{supercite}{#1}{text}{}\hfill x 
\item \confirmcsname{footcite}{#1}{a}{}\hfill x 
\item \confirmcsname{footfullcite}{#1}{a}{}\hfill x 
%\item \confirmcsname{citetitle}{#1}{as}{says}\hfill x 
%\item \confirmcsname{citeauthor}{#1}{as}{say#2}\hfill x

%\item \confirmcsname{posscite}{#1}{in}{landmark work}\hfill x

%\item \confirmcsname{autocite}{#1}{}{}\hfill x
\end{itemize}
}
\begin{document}
\frame[t]{
\frametitle{title}
item to be cited\footnote{xxx}
item to be cited too\footnote{yyy}
\testthecites{cicero}{\vpsng}
}
\end{document}

---

Addendum

Activating (some) French settings in a non-French context can be done.

French Babel has a \frenchbsetup{ShowOptions}, which is very handy.

So, adapting the answer from (French and English text in one document with a single style of footnote):

Here, footnote numbers in the text are spaced superscripts, and foonote numbers in the footnotes are non-superscripts, and the main language is English.

MWE

\begin{filecontents*}{\jobname.bib}
@incollection{lorenz,
author = {Katharina G Lorenz},
year = {2014},
title = {The Casa del Menandro in Pompeii},
subtitle ={Rhetoric and the Topology of Roman Wall Paintings},
pages={183-210},
editor = {J Elsner and M Meyer},
booktitle = {Art and Rhetoric in Roman Culture},
publisher = {Cambridge},}
@INCOLLECTION{auler:hiller:2011,
 AUTHOR = {Jost Auler AND Petra Hiller},
 TITLE = {Ein Kinderschuh des 19. Jahrhunderts aus Dor-ma-gen--Stür-zel-berg, Rhein-Kreis Neuss},
 KEYWORDS = {Schuh, Kind, Dormagen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, 19. Jahrhundert},
 CROSSREF = {radmacher:kronsbein:2011},
 PAGES = {65--73},
 GENDER = {pp},
 SHORTTITLE = {Kinderschuh},
 GENDER = {pp},
}
@COLLECTION{radmacher:kronsbein:2011,
 EDITOR = {Franz-Josef Radmacher AND Stefan Kronsbein},
 TITLE = {Archiv und Erinnerung im Rhein-Kreis Neuss},
 TITLEADDON = {Festschrift für Karl Emsbach},
 FESTSCHRIFT = {Karl Emsbach},
 DATE = {2011},
 PUBLISHER = {Kreisheimatbund},
 SERIES = {Schriftenreihe des Kreisheimatbundes Neuss},
 NUMBER = {18},
 LOCATION = {Neuss},
 LANGUAGE = {german},
 GENDER = {pm},
 }
@book{cicero,
  author       = {Cicero, Marcus Tullius},
  title        = {De natura deorum. {"U}ber das Wesen der G{"o}tter},
  date         = 1995,
  editor       = {Blank-Sangmeister, Ursula},
  translator   = {Blank-Sangmeister, Ursula},
  afterword    = {Thraede, Klaus},
  language     = {langlatin and langgerman},
  publisher    = {Reclam},
  location     = {Stuttgart},
  langid       = {german},
  indextitle   = {De natura deorum},
  shorttitle   = {De natura deorum},
  annotation   = {A bilingual edition of Cicero's \emph{De natura deorum}, with
                  a German translation. Note the format of the \texttt{language}
                  field in the database file, the concatenation of the
                  \texttt{editor} and \texttt{translator} fields, and the
                  \texttt{afterword} field},
}
\end{filecontents*}
\documentclass[12pt]{beamer}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\usepackage{fontspec}
\setmainfont{Noto Serif}
\setsansfont{Noto Sans}
\usepackage[french,english]{babel}
\frenchbsetup{ShowOptions,FrenchFootnotes=true,AutoSpaceFootnotes=true,AutoSpacePunctuation=true}
\usepackage{csquotes}
\newcommand\abibname{ext-verbose}
\newcommand\abibstyle{style=\abibname}\usepackage[
    \abibstyle , 
        ]{biblatex}
\newcommand\mynote{biblatex option used: \texttt{\abibstyle}.}
\defbibnote{abibnote}{\mynote}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\pagecolor{red!3}
\addbibresource{\jobname.bib}
\newcommand\vpsng{s}
\newcommand\vpspl{}
\newcommand\bstrnotavailable{\texttt{<not available>}}
\newcommand\confirmcsname[4]{%
{\color{blue}\textbackslash \texttt{#1}}: \ifcsdef{#1}{#3 \csname #1\endcsname{#2} #4}{\bstrnotavailable}}
\newcommand\testthecites[2]{%
\textbf{\large Example citations -- \abibname}
\begin{itemize}
%\item \confirmcsname{cite}{#1}{}{}\hfill x

\item \confirmcsname{textcite}{#1}{as}{say#2,}\hfill x

%\item \confirmcsname{parencite}{#1}{as noted}{.}\hfill x

%\item \confirmcsname{supercite}{#1}{text}{}\hfill x 
\item \confirmcsname{footcite}{#1}{a}{}\hfill x 
\item \confirmcsname{footfullcite}{#1}{a}{}\hfill x 
%\item \confirmcsname{citetitle}{#1}{as}{says}\hfill x 
%\item \confirmcsname{citeauthor}{#1}{as}{say#2}\hfill x

%\item \confirmcsname{posscite}{#1}{in}{landmark work}\hfill x

%\item \confirmcsname{autocite}{#1}{}{}\hfill x
\end{itemize}
}
\begin{document}
\frame[t]{
\frametitle{title}
item to be cited\footnote{xxx}
item to be cited too\footnote{yyy}
\testthecites{cicero}{\vpsng}
}
\frame[t]{
\frametitle{French Babel settings}
\sffamily\scriptsize
***** List of possible options for babel-french ****

[Default values between brackets when french is loaded LAST]
ShowOptions [false]
StandardLayout [false]
GlobalLayoutFrench [true]
PartNameFull [true]
IndentFirst [true]
ListItemsAsPar [false]
StandardListSpacing [false]
StandardItemizeEnv [false]
StandardEnumerateEnv [false]
StandardItemLabels [false]
ItemLabels=\textbackslash textemdash , \textbackslash textbullet , \textbackslash ding{43},... [\textbackslash textendash ]
ItemLabeli=\textbackslash textemdash , \textbackslash textbullet , \textbackslash ding{43},... [\textbackslash textendash ]
ItemLabelii=\textbackslash textemdash , \textbackslash textbullet , \textbackslash ding{43},... [\textbackslash textendash ]
ItemLabeliii=\textbackslash textemdash , \textbackslash textbullet , \textbackslash ding{43},... [\textbackslash textendash ]
ItemLabeliv=\textbackslash textemdash , \textbackslash textbullet , \textbackslash ding{43},... [\textbackslash textendash ]
StandardLists [false]
ListOldLayout [false]
\textcolor{red}{\textbf{FrenchFootnotes [true]}}
\textcolor{red}{\textbf{AutoSpaceFootnotes [true]}}
AutoSpacePunctuation [true]
ThinColonSpace [false]
OriginalTypewriter [false]
UnicodeNoBreakSpaces [false]
og= <left quote character>, fg= <right quote character>INGuillSpace [false]
EveryParGuill=open, close, none [open]
EveryLineGuill=open, close, none [open in LuaTeX, none otherwise]
InnerGuillSingle [false]
ThinSpaceInFrenchNumbers [false]
SmallCapsFigTabCaptions [true]
CustomiseFigTabCaptions [true]
OldFigTabCaptions [false]
FrenchSuperscripts [true]
LowercaseSuperscripts [true]
SuppressWarning [false]




\textbackslash frenchsetup{ShowOptions} on input line 107.

}
\end{document}