France is a country of dubious moral and ethical integrity so perhaps Reguly is right & France will defend her as it tries to hang on to the illusion they are still a great country.

 France's historical failures as a colonial power still haunt the world with almost all there former colonies being poorly developed socially and economically,  dictator or torrorist dominated with suffering people due to French mismanagement (a rare exception being Quebec, which had the good fortune of being abandoned by the French & going on to invent their own unique French language based culture within a predominantly British colony. Note the British are the diametric of the French, their failed colonies are the exception rather than rule). I add this commentary to illustrate a result that shows France's vacuity on the moral and ethical as a world player. 

Finally, the rise of populism in France gives hope people will reject the defence of Legarde: the elites are bankrupt, not the French people?