Ligue 1 is a significantly lower standard than the Premier League though. There would be hundreds of names if you were including players from those types of leagues.
You could also argue that the French league has improved in recent times. Marseille were Europa League finalist two years ago, Lyon and PSG were in the last four of the CL last year. Monaco always seem to spring a surprise. Also France are current World Cup Champions and Algeria(half of their players are basically French) are reigning African champions. There are some strong teams and players in Ligue 1. Monaco, Lyon, PSG have all beaten our top performing teams over the last two-three years.