1.) There are major aircraft maintenance facilities in Central America that are used by many North American carriers as their rates are lower than doing the work in the USA.
2.) The French ATC people often get a case of the A** when dealing with non-French carriers and will communicate only in French instead of English.
When a British Airways plane landed in Frankfort, he asked ground control for direction. Ground control was particularly obnoxious and berated the pilot for not knowing the ramps and taxiways of the Airport. Ground control also asked, “What is wrong, have you never been to Frankfort before?
“Yes he answered but it was 1944 and I did not land.”