However I'm not going to comment on French translations from Greek, since I don't speak either language. Plus, nuances change, particularly when a language is extensively used internationally (as French is).
Since the (previous version) French translation was only used since 1966, I wonder if that one, itself, was truly an improvement over the pre-1966 one. About which I know nothing. But 1966 was not in general a good year, Liturgy-wise, as I recall.
Anybody know?
In point of fact the Rosary began at the foot of the Cross along with Sacred Heart devotion. When Our Lady appeared to St. Dominic with instructions to propagate the Rosary, she did so for the same reason that our Lord would one day appear to St. Margaret Mary. In neither case was anything new proposed to the faithful, who were merely being recalled to practices known in the Church from the beginning, but which they were in imminent danger of forgetting.
One of the strongest indications of the Rosary’s supernatural character is its ability to withstand human manipulation. Amid the diabolic disorientation unleashed by the “Spirit of Vatican II,” it was only natural to expect that those who believe worship should conform to the times rather than the wishes of the Holy Ghost would lay hands on the Rosary as they had on the liturgy. The repetitive character of the prayer was deemed particularly unsuited to the mature modern mentality. By God’s grace and our Lady’s protection, however, so far every attempt to create a New Rosary has come to naught.
Like the traditional Mass, the traditional Rosary has been suppressed, denigrated and ignored, but never entirely eliminated. Even adaptations like the “Scriptural Rosary” still being promoted has never become really popular. As it became increasingly evident to the Rosary’s devotees that to tamper with it was to tamper with God’s work, the only strategy left to the innovators was to disregard it as much as possible.
I love the whole rosary. I say a little “description” of each mystery: “Jesus is conceived by the Holy Ghost at the Annunciation.” “Jesus endures the mocking of His Majesty and the crowning with thorns...”