I would venture to say that most French civilians under Nazi occupation did what most people of any nation would do. Hunker down, don't make trouble, and don't piss anyone off by doing anything that might piss someone with a gun off. Don't cooperate with either side unless you have to. For a civilian surrounded by guns on both sides, on the fence seems a damn good place to be. Not being part of the Resistance is not equivalent to being a collaborator, although there were indeed collaborators.

Rules of thumb: Don't be a traitor, but don't be a hero either. Try very hard Not To Be Seen.

Not very noble, or romantic, but realistic.

I would also venture to say that a large number of Iraqis of ALL backgrounds currently fall into this category. Having lived under a tyranny before would make them even more cautious about picking sides than the French were.

The terror-ridden insurgent occupation of Fallujah, and the subsequent violent invasion, taught a lot Iraqis that there isn't much middle ground left.