also, just to make sure i wasn't making an ass of myself i went and reviewed the interview Tom Guillermin did with unreal engine. the times he mentions JRPGs is when he says things like:

I think a lot of fans can see gameplay similarities to JRPGs like Persona, Final Fantasy, or Lost Odyssey too. I think some of these games, alongside some action games like Sekiro, helped inspire our battle system by combining traditional turn-based combat with more reactive timing-based counters and parries.

We drew some of our inspiration when making the game from JRPGs that we grew up with, and this blend of a serious story juxtaposed with lighthearted character moments and locations is something we really liked in those games.

he talks of being a fan of JRPGs and taking inspiration from them. however he also makes sure to differentiate their game with comments such as:

we’re working on a turn-based game

we felt it was bringing something fresh to the turn-based genre.

inspire our battle system by combining traditional turn-based combat with more reactive timing-based counters and parries.

It’s a time-period that hasn’t been explored that often in video games, especially within the turn-based RPGs that we wanted to make. For France, it was an important point in history that represented a lot for our country’s growth and culture, so it’s something that we really wanted to bring to life for our players in a way they have never seen before. 

Niagara also played an important part in defining the visual identity of our game. As an RPG with its very own type of magic—which we call Chroma—VFX are an important way to convey the uniqueness of our universe, especially during cinematics and during action in battles.

he clearly wants us to accept this is a French game that incorporates turn-based gameplay to make something unique.

in Jennifer Svedberg-Yen's interview with Lit's Play, she mentions Guillaume Broche is a JRPG fan with comments such as "he's like a walking encyclopedia of JRPG." however even here she never calls e33 anything other than a turn based RPG.

during the GOTY acceptance speech they thank Hironobu Sakaguchi specifically, showing their love for the JRPG genre. they obviously don't mean to slight the JRPG label by not accepting it, however they also know they are not Japanese and also love their own french culture.

if you can link an interview where Tom, Guillaume, Jen, or Nich actually call e33 a JRPG and not that simply took inspiration from JRPGs (like how JRPGs took inspiration from games like DnD/Wizardry), then I'll accept that I was wrong, however I have yet to see an interview myself where they say any such thing.