I don't think its that, the French league is decent and Sochaux are a good side, but they don't have the fans to fill a stadium that is much smaller than ours. When a player such as Maiga is offered the chance to sign for a club that is the size of ours in England with passionate fans and a large stadium its no surprise that they try to force a move.
Fair enough but going on strike isn't great. Imagine if it was one of our players.