Nothing wrong with this,the French are notorious refuseniks when it comes to speaking anything other than French.
Means you speak their language while in country or get static.
Just remember.....’Chapeau’ means ‘hat’.....’Oeuf’ means “egg”.....it’s like those French have a different word for everything.
Yes, it’s great from a cultural point of view. Many French can speak English perfectly well but you would never know it especially if you are not a tourist frequenting Paris. It’s also good as a French learner because it forces you to speak French to operate day to day. The US accommodates non-English speakers and the result is billions wasted on such accommodation, job requirements for Spanish - disadvantaging the legal population, and immigrant communities that fail to integrate.
Another interesting fact: In France, you have to put a photo of yourself on your CV/resume. Employers will not look at it without it. Infinitely higher response rate if you look like what the majority of French look like. If you look at a typical French company or institution there are very few non-caucasian employees and when they are they occupy low level positions. It’s much different than what you would see in an American company.