But I actually think the most significant issue is the culture, especially the whole higher education system, the so called "grandes ecoles", which could be somewhat compared to the Ivy league in the US. The incentive to go into big companies is huge, and there is also relatively poor consideration for IT jobs. I also think failure has more impact in your career than in the US/UK. Not so much failure itself as much as unusual careers.
I should note that I am highly biased against this system. I went through it like most students "who are good at math", and I hated it. The engineering education you receive compared to what you can expect in good engineering universities in the US is terrible.
Additionally (disclaimer, I'm Belgian), I would not start in France because of the fear of future laws. They seem to be pulling a lot of crap -- I don't really know if it's because they're clueless or malicious, but either way I'm not putting up with it.
Don't get me wrong, this is evidence, but it is fragile and problematic.
Wonder what that means.