What they’ll be waving will not be surrender
“I would rather have a German division in front of me than a French one behind me.”
— General George S. Patton .
Counting the French out would be a stupid move.
And I have personally been (peripherally) engaged in a situation that made their police look silly and stupid.
Patton’s statement was bluster and well-timed for the situation. The French military took a lot of beatings in the last century but AFAIK it wasn’t a lack of bravery on their part, it was mostly the same kind of parliamentary mis-micro-management that led to our defeat and hasty retreat from Vietnam. For which you can thank the Democrats.