On this I'd like to say that every time I've been in the German-speaking part of the country I've only managed to speak French with people that looked at least 40 years old.

When I need to ask something I always start a conversation with "excusez-moi, parlez-vous francais?", and while most elder people reply yes, not even a single person of around my age has ever done so. Then I switch to English and they can usually make a proper conversation.

So I tend to agree with the part of the article that you quote.