They did show up in a timely fashion though.........

       But there were risks.  Lord Stormont, British ambassador to France and a seasoned diplomat, made it plain his government considered the conflict an internal affair.  The consequences for a foreign power aiding the rebels would be dire.  He was confident France would stay out of it, though.  Despite the allure of humbling the British, the literal cost of getting involved seemed prohibitive.  France's national treasury faced growing budget deficits each year thanks to an archaic tax system exempting anyone who actually possessed real wealth.  The French monarchy floundered in dysfunctional debt for most of the eighteenth century and things were only getting worse.  It did not seem France's dream of cleaving the British Empire in twain could survive the reality of her annual budget reports.  King Louis XVI would be wise to focus on financial reform, not imperial war.

-Mike Duncan, Hero of Two Worlds, The Marqui de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution