Interesting tidbit from https://fabiensanglard.net/quake_pc/index.html:

"France only really got access to the Internet many years later, in 1999, when AOL came with its 99 Frcs/monthly unlimited plan."

For comparison, in Poland you could call the TPSA (national telco) access number 0202122 since May of 1996. It was priced the same as a local telephone call. Something like 0.19 zł per 3 minutes, or 6 at evening / night. There were tray apps counting how long you have till the next "impulse".