As a comparison, Jewish nationalism was arguably more popular in central and Eastern Europe around the turn of the century. This is not to say that Zionism is entirely reactionary but antisemitism surely drove Herzl and Leon Pinsker towards Jewish nationalism.
The Dreyfus Affair was clearly motivated by anti-Semitism, but it was a certain kind of anti-Semitism...a type of "don't let the Jew get too comfortable in high society, he doesn't know his place, etc." For most French Jews, Dreyfus's situation was morally wrong, but they had other, day-to-day concerns. The Dreyfus Affair, unlike the pogroms facing Eastern European Jews, was not an immediate concern. The Jews who truly feared for their lives, meaning those in Eastern Europe, were much more supportive of Zionism.
Early Zionism was also closely tied to leftist movements, as seen in the kibbutz movements. These leftist movements were likely less appealing to the French, who had a higher standard of living than their Russian or Polish fellow Jews.
Neither of these things means Zionism was "unappealing" to the French. As of 1933, France had 250,000 Jews. The former Russian Empire alone had over 4 million. Of course one would hear more about the Russian Jews/Zionists. It's similar to asking why there weren't prominent people from New Hampshire in the American Revolution like there were from Virginia or Massachusetts. None of the famous people were from New Hampshire, but New Hampshire was also much less populous.