I think that most state schools here in England teach Frech and it is compulsory. I went to a private school and we had the option of French, Spanish or German and I did German and Spanish for two years, then carried on with Spanish for three years after that. However, this means that it is generally expected here that people know at least a small amount of French.
I didn't have one single French lesson at school so I don't know any! :s.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.