The French priests described have been here for years and know the customs, they just think the customs are mistaken and that Americans do not know what they are doing. Of course there is a reason why the customs of Americans is different than the French. In France less than 4% of Catholics go to mass, they are no country to emulate, but these French priests do not see that, nor do they want to see because "they know better”. This is 1965 all over again, “active participation” will save the Church. Never mind that it does not work in France, it will work this time.
Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results
P.S. – mass attendance in the USA is 6 times higher than France. Putting that figure into better perspective: If you were selling your car and you received advice from two people who had the identical car, one who sold his for $7000 and another who sold it for $42,000, who would you seek to emulate? These French priests want to emulate the person that sold it for $7000