French Backbone?

I recently read an article about a French newspaper editor exhibiting signs of having some backbone. Immediately rereading the article in amazement, I was quite impressed. A Frenchman with guts. Apparently the paper had published some of the Prophet Mohammed cartoons and was receiving quite a bit of grief. And the editor held firm about not being intimidated. Surely this man was a product of the recent German occupation. The French have not exhibited strength or courage since the fall of the monarchy. In fact the phrase 'terrorism' is said to have been born in the murderous days of the French revolution. Granted the French assisted in the American revolution, but so did some Germans (von Stueben, among others) and some Poles (Pulaski and others). Indeed the assistance in our first war with England was truly international once it appeared that we might beat the mighty British empire. But that was the French monarchy. The French have not been quite the same since their demise.