I don't know what it is about French. It's similar to your Russian debacle.
Ich kann Deutsch sprechen. Ich lerne schon drei Jahre es.

I've always wanted to learn French. However, my school doesn't offer it, so I have to take German and Spanish instead.

How may I get my hands on a French version of an FF game? Are they PAL? PAL doesn't work in the US, does it?