I don't see the point in talking about a 2% difference in average productivity per hour. Even if it were implicitly significant, it's such a small difference that it could be attributable to any small factors, or even an error in data collection. It's certainly not a large enough gap to say that the French are working "smarter" in a significant way.
what french product is popular nowadays? I can't think or one low priced great product from France..... seems someone is measuring something wrong..