Wow! Udo that is a gorgeous sword! and I would agree with being French and mid 18th c. if not a bit earlier. Russeted and gilt hilts with neo classical themes were popular then, and the bilobate guard corresponds to examples I see in Aylward (1945).
While small swords and rapiers seem to have held to tradition in Italy and far more so in Spain, it seems French swordsmanship dictated innovations in 'faster' blades and this looks like a 'fighting' sword. Those pas d'ane are entirely functional, not vestigial as later in the century.
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