When you mentioned them saying "Europeans", I immediately thought they were people from anywhere but Europe, and I suppose those who don't follow his career and don't live in France/Europe are not hearing much about him lately, so I don't exactly blame them for questioning his award. For them, it must be like "oh, why is he winning if he hasn't done anything lately?". BUT, considering they are the press, their obligation is nothing but researching about what they are publishing. BUT, as I said, we can't expect such a big effort.