>Countless
The French gained their "reputation" for surrender during WW2 after they had surrendered to Nazi Germany (This doesn't even count the insane amount of propaganda put out by the British prior to the Napoleonic wars). However, people tend to ignore or not know (much like your post illustrates) that the French have a long history of military badassery. You can go to as far back as the days when they were known as "Gaul", and they were the only people to defeat Atilla the Hun in battle. Up until the pre-WWI climate came over Europe, it can be easily stated that France was in the running for world hegemony (You can even say that they retained it for quite some time). Post WWI, the French ceased their power grabs, but to be fair to them, most of Europe had as well. HEILDEUTSCHLAND.
Now, when we see people making fun of the French, be it here or abroad, we have to factor in two things that I mentioned earlier, and one thing that hadn't been mentioned. When an American is making fun of the French, you can typically attribute it to one of two things, their surrender in WW2, and the French government's refusal to become involved in Iraq. (Ever heard of Freedom Fries?) When it's abroad, odds are it's a mix of years of British propaganda, and again, the surrender during WW2. This doesn't change the fact for the longest time the French had a reputation for being some of the scariest fuckers ever.
Please, read a bit before blatantly stating lies about an entire country.
(Hell, this is coming from the guy who regularly bags on the French.)