Difference between MESECAM and French SECAM is how it's stored on tape, the composite/s-video output is SECAM in either case so that is what the device needs to support. (There will be differences between SECAM variants over antenna cables but that's generally not something one would use for capture purposes anyhow.)

Did the OP already try to capture from the component video output ? how would an HDMI passthrough device handle SECAM/MESECAM ? only very few vcr's recorded the pure SECAM signal to tape, isn't MESECAM converted during playback to PAL, and gives black&white on output when not converted by vcr ? PAL is always on output vcr ?

Alright, I finally got the ES10 to use as a passthrough and made a test capture today. This is one of the MESECAM tapes I've recorded on that shoddy LG VCR back in 2007. It seems that the ES10 converted the MESECAM signal to PAL, hence why the footage has color (it otherwise does not). The workflow was:

JVC HR-S7600AM -> ES10 -> Matrox MXO2 LE

The obvious flaw is, of course, no standalone frame TBC, but I don't have finances to get one right now.

Let me know how I can improve my capture, I'd very much appreciate your input.

P.S.: That red line at the bottom is how it was recorded during the broadcast, it's not a VCR defect since it's also present on the LG unit.

Did you have the ES10 (or the JVC) in any kind of "auto" mode set (MESECAM/PAL) or just in PAL ?

The JVC was set to MESECAM, the ES10 was set to PAL. The latter has neither AUTO, nor MESECAM setting, only PAL or NTSC.

It looks like the JVC converted the MESECAM already to PAL, from what you're saying, if the ES10 has no MESECAM feature/specification, if the ES10 has no SCART connectors it's a USA model, i guess. and the JVC is a multisystem European model with SCART connectors

No, the 7600 has no SCART connectors whatsoever. The ES10 does. I used a SCART to S-Video adapter, which I plugged into the AV1 slot in the rear of the ES10, to connect the VCR to it.

An other odd thing i discovered about the JVC… is, that it needs a button cell/battery to keep programed data/time without mains power…