One of the nice things about beginning trips from a small airport. Sure, it costs a little more as a direct flight is rare, but I've never had to arrive earlier then 45 minutes before my flight.
Flights from France would generally have more French people on them (I came up with that all on my own, BTW.) They wouldn't want to run the risk of harming their allies.
If someone is doing work in my home/yard I'll generally offer a cold beverage and maybe a snack. They remember things like that and it works to your benefit if you're a repeat customer.