German is very easy to learn for Americans, as English is based on German. The 2 languages while sounding very different are actually so similar that it takes only a matter of weeks to learn German. About half of the words are the same as in English. French is also similar to German and English, so knowing both languages makes it easier to learn French.
But French is a very hard language to learn, the pronunciation is very hard, there are lots of special characters in the alphabet, the grammar doesn't make any sense. I studied it for years in high school and can't speak, only read. French is useful in Africa, as half of the continent speaks it. I was in RDC recently and wished my French was good, as few people know English there.