I think France balances realpolitik against its ethics, with a veneer of corruption on top. Same as any world power.

That said, in comparison to post-WWII refuse-to-decolonize France? Objectively, modern France is far more ethical.

In regards to speed, as a political science professor once quiped to me, 'Countries don't change. The people with one set of ideas just get old and die.'