So French and British occupation occur under two very distinct time periods and sets of circumstances.

The French occupation of Egypt was basically a wake-up call that the Ottoman territories, including Egypt, had fallen very far behind the European competition.

But French occupation was brief. The Egyptian response to that occupation can probably best be seen in the reign of Muhammad Ali and his successors. They adopted a program of modernization whole heartedly, bringing in western advisers to build canals, railroads, create downtown Cairo, reform the military, modernize agriculture and introduce native industrialization.

It's worth remembering that the Suez canal was originally designed as a partnership between Egypt, France and Britain before Egypt was forced to give up its shares.

Far from modernizing Egypt the British occupation was a straightforward colonial adventure. The extraordinary progress that had been made was basically stopped. The occupation itself was basically the result of French and British banks acting more like loan sharks than institutions of international finance.

Restarting a program of modernization was the promise of Nasser and the Free Officers movement who wanted to build the Aswan Dam, nationalize the Suez, revitalize the industrial sector, and return the military to a modern standard after its disastrous performance in 1948.

So I would say in large part your question is a bit backwards, the Egyptians were proudly modernizing themselves until the British occupied the country to finance the exploitative loans that Egypt had taken. The British occupation of the country was a colonial endeavor that "modernized" by subjugation and basically prevented progress for 70 years.