It appears to me that France is really trying to ratchet up a reputation as a world power. They were the first to launch air strikes in Libya and now they are getting into the ISIS act. They seem to be keen to throw their air power around - or at least they have over the last two years or so...
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29277630
They do love their air strikes... ;)
http://www.todayonline.com/business/air-france-pilots-strike-enters-fourth-day
Franch? This is the first time I noticed the vowel changes depending on usage.