We can argue semantics but the reason AF stalled is the same reason a Cessna would stall (too high of an AoA)
And fair enough the comparison with the Cessna might be bad, but compare it with a 737-200 or even an A300 and the comparison will be much closer even though the 737 doesn't have the fancy cockpit
> things like overspeeding it will cause it to go out of control.
Well that would be the case of the Cessna as well, if it has enough power
Jetliners do have the power to overspeed, and the efficient place to be in the flight envelope is quite near it. A Cessna cannot.
There's a rather small envelope a jetliner operates in at altitude. A Cessna is far more forgiving, though you can get into deep doo-doo with that if you try.
You are correct that stall recovery is the same for both airplanes.
Although I know a lot about airplanes as an engineer, I am not a pilot and have not had pilot training.
My dad would attack artillery (Korean War) by diving straight down on it. I'm pretty sure his jet was fitted with dive brakes.
And yes dive bombers sure featured dive brakes! I think they caused the typical sound the German Stuka was known for too.