On the comments part of the "L'Express" article posted here ( below the article itself) is this interesting sentence :
Si je peux me permettre un petit rectificatif à votre article, la panne du pare-brise était connue au départ de CDG puisque notifiée à l'équipage au cours du briefing PNC.
Or " Correction, the Windshield failure was known before departure from CDG because mentioned to the crew during the Cabin Crew briefing "
If this is correct ,and if the guy who posted that is genuine, ( 2 "if" ) = a different story.