There are many different ways to be "a force". France is still very much an active force in military terms, well above "rising tigers" like India or China in terms of deployment abroad and engagement in crisis scenarios. Their economy might be slightly stagnant, but they are still very, very rich in aggregate.

Just because they don't agree with English-speaking media and their vision of the world, it does not mean they are not hungry for change. They are so hungry for change, in fact, that they've been rioting for weeks. What they are not hungry for, probably, is the obsession for worldly riches and conservative consumption-driven lifestyle that Asian and American interests keep pushing. That might not be a bad thing.