I have been telling friends for two years that France is starting to figure out their mistakes and change. I have been visiting France for 30 years and I have never seen the people so friendly to Americans. Almost everyone speaks English now, and even the girl in the RER station, who did not speak English, had a card with the instructions on how to obtain a discount at Versailles printed in English. Naturally, this will require reforms and the battle has begun to see if Sarkozy can stand against the trade unions which are opposed to reform and have defeated every effort since De Gaulle. I wish him well.
When I was backpacking France 16 years ago, I found Frenchman to be a little too friendly.