I think it is not about the French smelling worse than the English, but about Europeans smelling worse than Americans, and that it has its origin in Americans' abuse of deodorant, whether people usually take their daily bath or shower in the morning or evening, and the fact that Europe is 3 times as crowded as the US so Americans are 3 times less able to smell each other than they are to smell foreigners when they are abroad.

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides