>When the net finally reached the public in France there was no doubt whatsoever which one was the best tech.

That's almost 15 years of technological progress, of course the web/internet would replace it, the same way it replaced all other dial-up/BBS services.

>The Minitel was technically free to get but expensive to use since you had to pay heavily taxed services at the minute instead of data volume.

This, historically, was the telecom model. In the US (pre breakup) the telephone company would hand you a free phone for your home and it would be paid for by monthly fees. You never bought it nor ever owned it. This isn't a novel thing nor a real criticism imo.