Also, with LC_MESSAGES=C set, I can blacklist /usr/share/locale/*/LC_MESSAGES/ in my package manager and save half a gigabyte or so.
The issue is Europe has very few flag ship companies in Tech.
Not sure as to why, part of it may be the fragmented nature of Europe (lot of small/medium sized countries with different languages). Part of it may be because it failed to reach a critical mass at a critical time (dotcom boom), and now, an European startup are bought by US flagships. Lastly, part of it may be because Europeans are more risk-averse than Americans, I'm French and I'm working for an US company, and the American positivism ingrained in my US colleagues is fascinating, and, to say the truth, sometimes annoying as it feels fake, it's a facade basically.
Being neither a startup nor american, they are of course condemned to eternal scorn by many HN readers.