"Pyramide" is pretty much an institution in France... it's been on since at least the early 90's. There are "Pyramide" clubs all over France (as is the case with "Questions pour un champion" and "Des Chiffres et Des Lettres").
"Pyramide" has also kept its popularity up after a host and time change in early 2002 in an attempt to launch "Le Juste Euro" (TPIR) ... it went back to the way it was after the massive protest.
Also, I haven't seen the show in a while (don't get TV5 right now, but I don't even think it's on TV5 Canada these days) but there has always been a viewer game that would add time (10 seconds, IIRC) to the Final Pyramid clock.
Ryan
PS - Ingo: GREAT JOB!
