The book
The Morning of the Magicians was written by a Frenchman and he was a leftist. Occult and mystical ideas, within certain limits, are respected in France. There are occult groups in France that talk about forms of spiritual democracy. A type of Freemasonry that could be described as political, progressive, and spiritual/occultist, is part of French culture and is strong among scholars and professionals.
So France as a nation aware of the occult and dealing with it intelligently is a sound choice.