The mediocre PE seat is another example of the AF way. They get some great AF idea, find that competition gets better seats but persist rather than accepting their mistake. They believe that AF wonderful brand image and elegant FAs will make up for it.
NEV is another example. They introduced NEV in 2004 while other airlines were introducing flat beds. Instead of accepting that their product was outdated they kept it (with some enhancements) for over a decade, before timidly starting to introduce flat beds.
IMO, the major issue is not increasing the number of premium seats, but filling them with pax. The emphasis on "premium cabin", meaning J+PE, would suggest that AF thinks of increasing the number of PE rather than J. I could be wrong, but until they get flat beds throughout the fleet (scheduled 2022)or later knowing AF), J will be a tough sale.