French is recognized as an official language by the European Union, a growing trading power in the world. 

French is the second language introduced in middle school in many European countries.  Knowing French allows you to communicate with a large part of the European population. 

French is the second most used language at the United Nations.  Knowing French opens job opportunities as interpreter or translator. 

French is a common language in literature related to science and technology.

Invaders from the French region of Normandy (1066 A. D.) greatly influenced the English vocabulary: 40% of English words come from French!

If this is not enough, just think of France as the country of Cannes (movies), "Les Misérables" (literature), Descartes (philosophy), Paris (one of the most visited cities in the world), not to mention the French cuisine....