On LeClercs; when I was hitchhiking my way across southern parts of France with a friend of mine we at one time got a ride from a french army Colonel. Turned out he was in charge of the (only) french battallion with LeClerc's at that time. They were not yet 'operational' in the sense that the vehicles and crews were still being tested (as part of a larger formation and as they actually held up in the field) and trained. That gave us something to talk about...
Anyway, that was back in 1994 AFAIK.
Narwan