I'm not one to defend the French rolling over during the Blitz, but they lost over 1,150,000 during WW1, the 2nd highest of the allies against the Central Powers. A shit ton of brave, but ill advised charges in trench warfare. They used to fight with "panache".
Yeah they didn't evolve quick enough for that war. If you ever get a chance listen to Dan Carlin's podcast hardcore history when he talks about WWI, it's really interesting.
Fug em. How many times did they deny us the ability to fly over their country. They can deal with whatever comes their way. If I were the POTUS I'd say "damn, that sucks" "sorry but we can't help you"