The French were just behind the Wright brothers in the early aviation scene
To be honest, I think that in everything except being the first off the ground, the French were ahead. After all, the Wrights were so frustrated at the total lack of interest in the USA that they eventually moved to England.
In the meantime if you visualise a modern light aircraft, the Wright Flyer, and an early Bleriot next to each other you are left in little doubt about who the modern aircraft's distant ancestor is.
G