Author here. You are right, that was a lot of cards, but doing it in French is several times easier and faster than doing it in English due to the massive numbe

Author here. You are right, that was a lot of cards, but doing it in French is several times easier and faster than doing it in English due to the massive number of cognates and near-identical alphabet. The 5k deck was also, as you say, a massive time saver, if not less effective than making your own deck.