You know, there is actually one great French horror film.
Franju's LES YEUX SANS VISAGE
It's brilliant. For the sake of Franju much can be forgiven. (Not everything, though) Maurice Jarre's score! The black Citroen of death! The faceless girl in the white mask, (Edith Scob) driven insane, releasing the experimental animals, surrounded by clouds of escaping doves!
http://www.affichescinema.com/insc_y/yeux_visage.jpg
JS
(Actually,THE BROTHERHOOD OF WOLVES is pretty cool, too. On the other hand, me and friends of mine used to sit around and laugh at Godard's ALPHAVILLE. My friend S. used to do imitations of the Alphaville computer all the time.)