My suspicion, based purely on human nature, is that French pilots must do an awful lot of DIY letdowns.
I cant speak for the North of France, but down here in the south I would say that generally the locals only fly on Gin-Clear Sunny days, and there is far more sun down here than in the UK, so the "On Top" bit doesnt really apply in the first place. The weather really is generally much, much better here than in the UK!!
Regards, SD..