.. no first hand knowledge,
[..]
I believe Airbus took the position that the FBW flight control algorithms eliminated the need for the physical feedback.
People who do have first hand and personal knowledge testify - that's about 40.000 brand A. rated pilots worldwide - there's non-linear, gradient force opposing a pilot's pull for a higher AoA with that F/CTL implementation. Not a feedback by far, but does what the regulation prescribes both in active FBW and "raw" direct control law.
One imagines it could have been enjoyable to implement. The stick is spring-loaded towards the neutral and thus provides closed haptic loop how much the pilot is demanding. All the engineers needed to do after flight testing the aerodynamic behaviour was to "gear" their algorithms properly so that the plane would respond to deflections on the control any particular way that may have been required.
Yet you can't take Chicago out of the girl.