Food for thought:-
The blocked pitot system resulted in the autothrust applying thrust to stop the " apparent" speed decay. Similarly, the autopilot applied nose up trim for the reducing speed. When it reached the limit, the autopilot gave up, and the handling pilot now had an aircraft with full nose up trim and full power. by the time he reached the apex of the " bunt" (around 38000ft), the aircraft was in a deep stall with a forward speed of around 60kts and a high angle of attack...resulting in the 10,000ft + Rate of descent. In Direct law, which they may now have been in, holding the stick back will maintain the stall.
I really hope the DGAC /Air France/ Pitot Heat manufacturers don't use the get out clause of " Pilot Error" to wriggle out of their contribution to this crash.
Edited to acknowledge Robssupra's post above, which appeared whil I was writing.