In my personal experience, whichever language you use when you first meet someone will be the language you will always use together. If you want to speak French

In my personal experience, whichever language you use when you first meet someone will be the language you will always use together. If you want to speak French, just struggle the first few times you talk to a new friend/colleague/contact. Then nearly all future engagements they will speak French with you. FYI I’m native English speaker who speaks French and German. I’ve lived in both countries and my current work brings me to both countries still. I’ve found this experience try for both German and French speaking friends/colleagues.