Sure, there are some exceptions. Probably with PPR. But with PPR you can achieve a great deal, if you have the contacts.
But France isn't like the UK, where every piece of tarmac over 1000m is trying to be "London International [insert the nearest village name]" and is charging a fortune to land. You can land at say Biarritz for peanuts - the airports are subsidised by the local chamber of commerce, etc.