"AF cant use 346 because it uses a 'foreign' engine '. A lot of people are not aware of the french state tie up with GE engines [dont think they've been privatised yet] "
Could you expand on that. I know that for short-haul, Air France sticks to CFM-56, and that is because this engine is jointly built by Snecma (a French company, partly owned by government) and GE.
But for long-haul, it uses GE made engines, that is engines 100 % american. It sticks to only a single supplier for these "long-haul engines" for reasons of costs/rationality and not, as far as I know, for questions of promoting the national industry.
Am I mistaken ??