Oui.

santos going to go scorched earth?
He’s taking them down with him!

Its because France is a vassal rump state of a once great Imperial state with a proper Monarch. The French navies ships were the envy of the sea, their military prowess was legendary and they could at one point call themselves the highest of high culture. French sovereignty ended after the Fall of France at Germany's hands - in the present day, they are a vassal to Germany (I.e. the EU) who are in turn vassals to America.

France played themselves when they killed their own King & all their cultural heritage along with him.

Ironic considering that France was the majority stakeholder of America at one point

Culture is a small price to pay for the freedom from the tyranny of a monarch. what you do with that freedom isn't a guaranteed win, however. they operated quite well up through WW1, beyond that they've not faired quite so well. common sentiment may place the beginning of their decline on the failures of Napoleon, but most of Europe as a whole failed to reach higher heights in any era beyond then too. Hitler did great things, terrible but great. Beyond his campaign however the continent has failed to do much worthy of it's namesake, mostly for the good. wars dont win kingdoms like they once did.