We like to laugh at the French. However they have the 2nd most experienced professional army in the world and have been involved in asymetric combat for many years. You mess with them at your peril.
They didn’t lose to the Germans because of cowardice. They inflicted massive casualties in many areas. They simply had the most incompetent Generals you could find.
Still its pretty fun to make jokes.
They also have a tremendous nuclear arsenal with long range super sonic cruise missiles and fantastic SSBN’s. I wouldn’t mess with them IRL, but I do joke sometimes.
They relied on the Maginot Line while the Germans introduced them to modern mechanized warfare.
“They didn’t lose to the Germans because of cowardice. They inflicted massive casualties in many areas. They simply had the most incompetent Generals you could find.”
The French Army definitely had the incompetent generals but they hardly inflicted massive casualties on the Germans. In fact the French had 2 to 3 times as many killed as the Germans. This was an atrocious figure considering they were fighting on the defensive. Usually attackers suffer more casualties then defenders.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_France#Casualties
Where did you learn history, “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not’’?
Yes, they’ve done good work in West Africa and the Horn of Africa.
That said, their political leadership at home is suspect for sure.