Seeing folks like [Unknown site tag] say Paris is a black hole shipping-wise... this makes sense, because I've noticed that quite a few sellers on ebay (mostly the HK merchants) warn that if you're shipping to France, you have a wait that is MUCH longer than the rest of Europe (save Italy who has similar policies I'm guessing).

So yeah, if you choose to speak with this client again, tell them that you've heard from another shipper that due to their countries apparently mail practices that his item is most likely there, he just needs to take the initiative to get it. Not only would it help him get his stuff, but it'll help you see if that was truly the case so that you can warn future French customers ahead of time.