Character Analysis
Given that Jules Verne is French, it's no surprise that he made a Frenchman—Michel Ardan—the character with the most swag in From the Earth to the Moon.
Basically, Ardan is depicted as the coolest dude on the planet. Though he's not a genius like Barbicane, he's portrayed as a sharp dude whose "vivid imagination" (19.24) outweighs his lack of book smarts (unlike Barbicane, who can get a little weighed down by his brainiac ways). Ardan's brave, resourceful, and charismatic, and he's even so handsome that he has the entire female population of America swooning.
Additionally, Ardan has an artistic spark that is completely lacking in the novel's American characters. For example, you'd never see J.T. Maston suggest adding a bust of a "salamander rising from the fire with spread wings" (23.8) to the side of the moon capsule. In fact, Barbicane doesn't even know how to respond to this suggestion from Ardan—his mind is far too logical to make sense of something so abstract.
Despite these pronounced differences, Ardan becomes tight with his American compatriots. Barbicane affectionately refers to Ardan as a "most radiant artist" (23.17), and these two men come to appreciate each other for their differences, forming a sincere, symbiotic relationship with each other.
This deep friendship between a flamboyant Frenchman and straight-faced American embodies Verne's own relationship with America. Although he finds much about the country to be downright silly, he can't help but feel a strong connection with this sincere and straightforward people.