Ted, your point about the safety is well-taken. The main problem I have with Darnes is that I can't get used to a safety somewhere other than on the tang. Otherwise, generally liking things French (women, wine, fries, and their break-action guns), I'm naturally attracted to Darnes. I have seen some with absolutely horrendous trigger pulls, but I'm less of a fanatic on that subject than some. If the pull is crisp and if it's at least somewhat lighter than the weight of the gun, I can live with it.
Don't think I'd want to use a Darne for driven shooting, even if I were used to the safety. Pair and a loader . . . maybe. But I have visions of much Scots muttering and cursing, assuming the loader in question wasn't used to sliders.
In the Darne curiosity column, you can also put their guns where the entire breech rotated for reloading. Saw a couple of those at the UP Shoot a couple years back. Either they didn't make a lot of them or else very few made their way Stateside.
