The different national cultures were explained to me by a German Airbus test pilot as follows:
"Let's say we sell the Brits, the Germans and the French the same type of aircraft. The Brits decide they want to use it for a particular purpose, so they check the Flight Crew Operating Manual for any limitations. If there aren't any, they go ahead and do as they wish"
"The Germans also decide that they want to use the aircraft for the same purpose, so they look through the FCOM for the relevant procedure. Finding none, they conclude that they cannot do it"
I then asked him "But what about the French?"
"They just say «What manual?»", was his reply!