I know it is not a payment processor but I think this needs more attention to what it got. The biggest smart card manufacturer was French. If they died (the company still exists but is a shadow of what it was), you'd have to thanks the NSA for it.
The English Wikipedia is lacking but you'll find more details here : https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemplus
The USA is fighting dirty to keep its position overall and we are not responding at all.