Google maps is not free, it is free at the point of use. Google would not run the service if it did not pay, anybody who buys a product from a company that advertises with google is paying for maps. A tiny portion of what you pay will end up with google via the companies advertising budget. Google does not give stuff away for free, they just have a non traditional funding source.
France, who has given the world some amazing minds (and wine) should hang it's head in shame. I'm no huge google fan but his just sucks. If they want to sell their mapping products, make them better or change your funding model. I have access to google maps yet I paid 10bucks for a 3rd party mapping app, because it was better and could cache huge amounts of maps for use offline and had a wider variety of maps. That is how you make money, if you have to whine in court your product is junk.