Why would you call the AF intra-Europe C product "pathetic"?
2-2 (most likely with wider seats) and 34" (isn't that the pitch in US domestic "first"?) on the 320, plus I am sure you got some half-decent snack, most likely with cutlery and crockery on a tray and not some dodgy "snack basket" with crisps.
Nothing to get excited about, but not bad for a sector lasting 90 minutes or so.
Would I pay for it? Not unless I was a non-elite (i.e. would need to buy C tkt for lounge access) on a complicated connection (e.g. 3 segments= 3 times the food!). When talking about intra-Europe product, please bear in mind that most flights are quite short. I don't think AF have a European flight longer than 4 hours, and the vast majority of their short-haul sectors are under 2.5 hours. No point in designing a truly great C product if the flight is not long enough for pax to appreciate it. Few people pay for these tickets; most intra-Europe C pax connect from/to a longhaul segment. If you fly business class on OK or MA (no longhaul network to speak of) outside of the routes to/from the intercontinental hubs (e.g. Paris, London), you will often be the only passenger in front of the curtain, no matter how many steaks and Drambuies they may offer in C. OTOH, KLM, who arguably offer the worst intra-Europe C product (3-3 seating and often cardboard boxes instead of trays), seem to have no issue packing their front cabins to the gills!
However, my understanding is that you can have a domestic US flight lasting about 7 hours, which is near enough longhaul in my book!