The resistance that exists, in many parts of Europe, to flight in imc is difficult to understand by us brits. It is common place for a UK instructor to take their students into cloud if only for the experience of it or most likely to obtain clear training air above. British trained pilots will be unlikely to have not flown in cloud at some point. The UK PPL is therefore likely to obtain the IMC rating later if only as a “get out of trouble” rating, they can see its value.
To the French “les nuages” is a place like no other, full of mystery where strange things happen. Few French instructors will have experience of flight in IMC. Fear and ignorance are the biggest killers and France still boasts high levels of fatalities from CFIT and loss of control. To the French hierarchy this isn’t because of a lack of training, it is because the pilot broke the rules. It is simple, for them cloud is the breath of the devil, stay away or enter at your peril.
With these deeply held but irrational believes it was always going to be difficult to sell the IMC even in the face of the evidence. In our modern world of artificial intelligence and courses for just about anything too many still believe in witches.