Contributary Factors
I am surprised that the summary doesn't mention the unhelpful, to put it mildly, attitude of ATC, though it is discussed in the main body of the report (section 2.1.3, page 86 in the English version/90 in French). It was their baffling refusal to allow a few measly 360s that caused the whole low speed test first to be cancelled and then later inserted at a wholly inappropriate point in the flight. It also encouraged the crew to keep their later intentions to themselves. The obstinate and bureaucratic 'you can't do that there here' attitude, with no explanation, has a lot to answer for and should have no place in aviation, but is sadly common. This crew was not the first to be tripped up by a sudden ATC-inspired change to a flight test schedule, the A 330 accident at Toulouse in 1994 is a case in point.