Of course someone said it was China. It's only slightly more surprising that they'd say France, but some people will jump at any chance to place the blame "over there" and it has nothing to do with the science. The earliest documented cases were in Haskell county, from which it spread to Fort Riley, and from there to the WW1 front, etc.

https://www.kansas.com/news/local/article200880539.html

Note that it's a Kansas source. People there don't deny it.

> In any case, the start of the epidemic during WW1 hints that the origin may be linked to it.

Citation needed. The war certainly contributed to its spread but that's not the same as its origin.