Haha, yes, I regularly take bags of bonding plaster over with me, as I've not found anything remotely like it in France.The finish plaster is also nothing like the pink gypsum finish in use over here; it's white and takes appreciably longer to go off. It's also nowhere near as hard when cured as pink gypsum, but is probably easier to use for hobby plasterers like me.
But it's also completely wrong to be putting gypsum plaster on old traditional stone/brick work. If properly knocked up Lime plaster is actually easier for a novice because its so forgiving and can be reworked even days later.
Sadly much of the gypsum in old buildings is down to peoples impatience and lack of understanding