France has a GDP the size of South America; Germany has an even larger GDP, the size of South-East Asia. (Japan and China, however, are in East Asia)
French exports: $443.4 billion a year, of which 6.7% go to the U.S.
French imports: $473.3 billion, 5.1% from the U.S.
German exports: $1.016 trillion, 8.8% to the U.S.
German imports: $801 billion, 7% from the U.S.
So Germany is a slightly bigger trading partner. (They actually export more than the U.S., which exported $927.5 billion last year. The U.S. imported $1.727 trillion the same year. Trade deficit, like the French....)
Germans are on the whole much better at English than Frenchmen. However, Frenchmen working in business do speak English. Both languages are more difficult to learn than they have to be.
Both countries are equally pleasant to go touristing in. By the way, stay away from the French riviera, it is not as great as marketed. Go to Pay the la Loire, the Loire Valley, and see the Chambord castle, which is partly designed by Leonardo da Vinci. (You could find it as wallpaper in older Windows versions, very beautiful.) In Germany, visit Bavaria and the Alps, and the old Teutonic castles.
Germans and French will be equally polite to be around; however, Germans are slightly more pleasant people, also more punctual, and with other good habits. Also, they are on the average more attractive.
All in all, I would say German is the best language to learn.
