FWIW Spaldy.......

Fair point Spaldy given with skin on the ground from you......... and appreciated.

My observation was in tamden with dealings I also have had with several staff of companies from within the United States with interests in France....... usually via visa applications for internships and graduates wanting relevant experience into having stronger trade and investment ties.
Some 5,000 U.S. firms are operating in France right now having been induced in by various regional incentives....... so my opinions voiced knew that you would be enticed into a comment response as I was interested to hear it from somebody also within an American community........ warts and all..... which you kindly provided.

Phoenix I was briefed...... is rapidly emerging as a vibrant and promising tech hub, into captivating entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts alike of which provided me some interesting translation work regarding why foks chose France for work experience to engage into via the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company Airbus setup..... I was helping out.
..... also dealt with hi-tech firms in Salt Lake City of Utah and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania which all appear to offer a very highly skilled tech labour force for my clients in France.
...... so my input maybe had bias from the 'suits' I deal with which was thrown into the thread mix and the younger students views expressed on living in the USA of today while working in France for said tech companies hiring and training them was on the whole with the same opinion of the tourists of various ages and backgrounds I come across.

As ever....... an interesting perspective given from you which I appreciated and will take on board....... as you quite rightly stated media is not always offering consistent balanced views today.

MOT