Yep, same with me, except I live 650km away from Paris. A few years ago, when I needed to do the same, I did go all the way to Paris on their appointed day, then stood in line for about three hours for an "interview", where they asked me all the same questions that I had answered on the application form. They then sent me a letter saying I couldn't have a visa, but no reason given.
This time, when they asked me for "interview", I decided not to bother, because I guessed they were just going to waste my time and money again. So I've booked to do my FAA CPL/IR conversion in Europe instead.