Last time I checked, France was part of Europe, but I didn't say that S&W was based on France
The motifs, however, are common to most of Europe. France and England also have their "wolf" legends and all areas have various holiday festivals that have pre-Christian roots (discussed in other threads).
The series itself seems to start in Northern Italy during the pre-Renaissance and they may travel into Germany-like lands on their way to Scandanavian areas. There's some Medici period vibes to the first adventure.
The motifs of the setting, however, are common to much of Europe. And even though pagan influences
officially stopped in 452 AD across Rome's empire .... the countryside and rural lands persisted with local traditions for centuries - well into the Renaissance. There are festivities to this day in England and other countries in Europe that trace directly back to pagan roots though most people may not know the history of their "town festival".
But you're just nailing the reason I'm scratching my head about the post I questioned -- you're showing awareness of the history of Europe (I've got a couple of tabletop wargames for replaying the battle of Alesia
).
I cock my eyebrow a bit at people who don't seem to be aware of their local history (local = european) in this case. I've got no problem with someone simply not finding S&W interesting -- but the post (and previous ones by him) is giving me vibes of a much more fundamental "not getting" what is going on.