I would say on the contrary, French people start stuff pretty much at the same rate as everyone else, as long as things are done under the radar. But the moment a topic becomes twitter-fodder, we develop pockets of resistance, and, all clichés aside, "being in a pocket of resistance" is at the earth of French persona. (We still teach kids and conservatives that Asterix and De Gaulle won their wars.)

We had three presidential candidates running on a platform of "windmills are ugly, let's not do that", and at least three on the platform of "nuclear plants are dangerous, let's not do that". I'm kinda worried that "solar panels are ugly, let's not do that" is gaining traction; and I wonder who's going to be the first to oppose dams, but there's a niche.