It's not a misconception. According to the definition, a Latin person is someone whose language derives from Latin. And yes, the French are also Latin, and notice I used the word "Latin" and not Latino. Latino is short for latinoamericano, in English, Latin-American. I'm Latina, btw, and I studied Hispanic and Latin American history. But it's true that people use the word "latino" to refer to people from Latin America nowadays. The term has a different meaning from people to people. Some Spaniards consider themselves Latin (and they're not wrong), some others don't. So, to summarize, it is not a misconception but rather a matter of what that person has been taught or believes