France boosting defense

I've been taking advantage of the holiday to catch up on some of my Aviation Week magazines. Today, I noticed an article (Oct. 3, '05 Boosting Defense, page 36)about the French increasing their defense spending. Apparently, they plan to add a conventional powered aircraft carrier, 14 Rafale fighters, a landing craft, and their new Barracuda attack sub. This move leaves me wondering if:

A) Have they realized that we are at war?
B) Have they realized they are underpowered in military terms?
C) Are they coming to "liberate" San Francisco?