doesn't France have a rule of not allowing a EU resident fly a F reg on a non JAA license but will allow a non resident to do so.
Yes, and I have a copy of a DGAC letter saying as much
I can dig it out for anybody interested. Not seen it for years though.
I think the intention is to allow visiting U.S. people to fly F-reg planes on their FAA PPL/IRs. A lot of European countries do validations like that, though few publicise the option because, obviously, it is rather difficult to police once the person decides to hang around in Europe for a longer period.