Actually the French have a fairly good martial record up until The Great War, the Battle of Verdun (1916) in particular.
The French Army mutinied in 1917, and they seem never to have recovered.
Hey, give credit where it is do. What the he** is Bozo doing about the pirates? Nothing. He wouldn’t have rescued the captain if the Bainbridge hadn’t taken the initiative. The French have aquitted themselves well in two incidents with the Pirates over the last several weeks. The US has one embarrassing save that wouldn’t have happened if left up to our Coward In Chief. Sarkozy is many times a better leader than Bozo, and better than France has had in decades if not centuries!