I understand that it may be the normal way of doing business, but is it according to "the book"? IIRC, that's [part of] what the OP was asking.
I've also heard of the Italian "You know where you are? You know where you want to go? You cleared!" type of clearances. Under the right circumstances they are tolerable, but in hard IFR with a pilot who "hasn't been there before," it could be disaster...
So, I'm still waiting for the definitive French document that covers the situation...