IO540-C4D5D,
If true, what the French are doing is an interesting little twist. So the poor little GA pilot gets the shaft again for the glory of a European JAA which can challenge the US FAA.
I'd also be a bit worried about the FAA (or more likely TSA) coming out and saying N regs have to be based in the USA. That would shaft a lot of poor GA pilots all over the world, and there is no evidence that will happen.
If the French are doing this "because it's what the Americans do" I expect the French to recognise ICAO IR licences and training the same way the Americans do when converting from one regime to another. Fat chance of that of course, one thing the French and Americans do have in common is they both only obey international protocols when it suits them
