Some cars are quirky and unique. Saabs, Landrover, Peugeots, Alfas are Even Honda are to an extent. Citroen are probably the most quirky/unique (in that they are notoriously difficult to live with, work on, costly to maintain and hence plummet in resale value)

Part of the problem with French cars is that we are not in France (obviously)
What that translates to is relatively low sales numbers in this country, limited parts availability, probably no non genuine parts suppliers here and limited knowledge to repair them outside of the dealer network.

It's the complete opposite of a high selling mainstream car like Getz or Camry, but that's some of the attraction for owning one. For me, a Citroen doesn't offer enough benefits to justify the costs associated in owning one. That's not to say I wouldn't own a quirky and unique, expensive to maintain car, in fact I lust after a Lancia Delta Integrale. But I would expect and deal with the inevitable unreliability and costs that ownership of a Lancia entail and I would try not to whinge about it too much.