On top of that, if it was not the French playing delaying action and swearing to fight til the last man, the British would not be able to haul ass at Dunkirk. The French had done more enough to save the British expeditionary force under the threat of annihilation, and the British damn right needed to repay it in 1945.
After WW1, no one in Europe, neither french nor British, had any stomach for more war after wasting an entire generation of men in mud pits. Go to one of those old WW1 battle sites and you will understand.
Going back to HK416, the French has fought in Africa and Afghanistan since 2008. There isn't any doubt the experience had hastened the urgency to buy new rifles in 2011/12, instead of toying with FAMAS and the FELIN kit anymore. Because the special forces brigade has been using 416, the big army probably goes with the one has a proven track record.
