I think you misunderstood. What he really said was, "It is strictly forbidden to fly in France with a GPS due to our new astringent anti-terrorist laws." What he really wanted to do was to swab your GPS with an alcohol wipe so you wouldn't catch a cold from all of that "airplane air." That's how France keeps its socialized healthcare costs down. After all, germs are expensive weapons of terror.
Geez, here the guy is trying to protect you from rhinoviruses, and you give him a hard time.
You're probably correct, except I didn't come in contact with any rhinos only a couple of jackasses and apparently the cure for jackassvirus in France is to say no, please get my bags