From the AF Press Reports site, the only reference to strong turbulence was their second press release, and this seems to be a generic statement.
The aircraft hit a zone of stormy weather with strong turbulence at 2am this morning (universal time), i.e. 4am in Paris. An automatic message was received from the aircraft at 2:14am (4 :14am in Paris) indicating a failure in the electric circuit a long way from the coast.
They make no reference to how this information (turbulence) was obtained, but I note On the other hand that they are very specific when it comes to the ACARS. Seems like one is documented, and the other ??? Did the BEA briefing on Saturday reveal any info on the validation of turbulence area?