No its not - and I was ignoring the shades of grey - which do exist.
One of my best friends is French, English Mum, French Dad with one of the most beautiful vineyards in the very best part of white wine country - Corton. If you feel brave with your wallet if you do nothing else you must try a bottle once in your life. It is very different from any other white wine you will ever taste.
However, the mayor is very influential and, therefore, if you do nothing else (rather like with the wine) talk to him (or her) first if you want an easy life. The French are very receptive to anything aviation related (much more than we are). A long standing mate of mine who started his aviation related business life in our part of the world moved to France about 15 years ago and setup a micro light business and private strip which subsequently evolved into permit aircraft. He has never looked back. On the down side France has become surprisingly expensive - I heard only last week of a reasonably wealthy family who returned to the UK after a year in France despondent about the sky high cost of living.