Like any country, France had two main public opinions that divided like the Western political sphere into left and right.
The first was where the heart overcame the head.
Perhaps because the heat of war hadn't cooled yet, revenge burned stronger than fear, leading to the opinion that they needed to continuously beat Germany when they had the chance to prevent another war.
The other was where the cold head calmed the heart.
No matter how much they beat them up, eventually time would pass and the student would graduate, possibly returning to their alma mater with a sharply honed blade.