They must be new on planet earth.
It is not even about right or wrong. The question is, what does the NYT narrative serve? Is it anti-french? The last time the U.S. had an official anti-French attitude was before the invasion of Iraq. Perhaps they are trying to give the French Globalists something to browbeat against the French Nationalists.
It serves the same narrative as a long Reddit comment waxing on and off about the America's imperialism in South America. While it's technically true, I think it just makes the writer feel more intellectual while being morally superior to some powerful status quo. These ideas travel from serious intellectuals, to pop-sci nerds, to reddit comments then ultimately to mainstream.
Not to say that they are wrong, I'm just saying I don't think there's some nefarious conspiracy (not to say they don't exist), but this could be just a case of a writer making a name from himself.