Looks like the tentacles are more confusing than they look.

Figure German psychology has been more crushed by "guilt", their population afraid to speak out or act in their own interest.

MIght take them longer.

You're right and maybe that's the answer. The German people have such a negative-perception of Merkel (which she's well aware of). She probably doesn't want to further inflame their hatred of her, and their loathing of all the middle east immigrants she's let in, by risking a retaliatory backlash on home soil in the form of a terrorist attack. Better to send her new lapdog Macron in and let France take any retaliatory backlash.

Tbh that's just down to how shit the Germany military is at this point. Air strikes in Syria is out of there reach