In response To Mr Optimistic's query, there is no indication whatsoever in Otelli's account that the captain at any time realised they were in some form of degraded law. He seemed totally nonplussed by the situation for the entire 2 min 46 sec that he was in the cockpit during the descent.
After the first 30 sec, during which 12 stall warnings sounded, Otelli writes: De son côté, le commandant semble étrangement absent [For his part, the captain seems strangely absent]. Less than 2 sec before impact, the last recorded words on the CVR are the captain's: Ten degrees pitch up.
Rockhound