Being French myself but having worked in Holland for over 30 years, I can I believe understand both cultures. The Dutch should forget for a moment their natural sense of knowing everything better and perhaps look at what happened in the last decades to airlines in countries of similar size : Sabena, Swisair, Malev etc.. all gone. Without a successful merger they probably also be gone today. What the French should also put their natural senses of being a superior power ( a bit like the Brits
) and stop treating the Dutch and KLM as inferiors . Without the KLM merger AF would also not be what it is today. The traditional AF milk cows of monopolies in both domestic and Outre-mer routes is no longer there. And the synergy of using 2 hubs SPL and CDG brings money to both airlines.
Today a Canadian , coming from outside Europe, wants to reshuffle the cards and probably is not bothered by national prides and only looks at both airlines as just departments of a larger company.. I cannot say this is a bad thing. per se. Egos bruised , oh yes, but is this the most important ?.