France: too weak in the game? (given the current province lineup)

[Slaists]

Is it just me or is France really too weak given the current province lineup? I am not talking about the case when a player controls it but rather when the AI does.

In my last three games:

1) France always lost Alsace to Wuttenberg early in the game
2) Subsequently French main province got taken either by the Dutch or Savoy...
3) Given #1 & #2, France ceases to exist...

I feel, in the XVII century (especially while the Sun King is around) all neighbors (such as Savoy and the Dutch) should be trembling with fear from the French and covering behind their walls rather than successfully destroying France in the first decades.

I suspect, breaking up the huge blob that the current mainland France is into a few provinces would solve the problem.