Making friends and French language is a relevant issue throughout this forum

Do not expect to make French friends rapidly if you do not make efforts to speak their language (this is a Frenchman speaking) with a vast number of notable exceptions (ex-expats, educated people, professionals, students, girl or boyfriends are notable exceptions).
2 out of 3 ordinary French person are most likely employees, or working or the owner of a small enterprise.

In big towns, it is sort of easier as you have much more choice , and you'll find (so called) English speakers in numbers.

In the country side, except in Ste Foy la Grande where 50% of the population is a native British /Welsh or Scottish, no problem as well.
But in la Racineuse, Saone et Loire, Southern Burgundy, or in Saint Germain des Fosses, Allier (Auvergne) better speak French.

The best way is to start with 80 hours or so (120 ideally) with the following communication skills. You will find free podcasts to be downloaded on Itunes. Once in France, and for a good while , you must target learning a new French word each day. Easy if you regularly buy a newspaper: they are many words you can learn in there. Same with radio or TV.

1- presentations ( I am ... I come from, you are ...., I understood you com from ......), and asking about identities, names, and qualities, describing a person
2- directions and getting directions, describing places
3- expressing a simple wish, expressing elementary feelings
4- survival shopping, (I would like a kilo of small oranges, please or could I have the one up there? )
5- describing an event in the past (we went to the post office, but is was closed) some say as usual....
6- planning and future actions (We could also visit the Chateau and after, your mother can join us and we will go together to the restaurant)
7- filling forms (they are many, just pick one )
8- table drills, sentences and vocabulary ( la fourchette, une theiere en faience, une cotelette de porc sauce chasseur, nous voudrions commencer avec le saumon, et puis apres choisir une viande blanche avec un bon vin, est-ce que vous avez du pain frais aussi?)
9- taste and passions,
10- counting, costs, and prices, asking for price, comment statistics (basic)
11- telephone drills (Allo, non Madame, ce n'est pas le Docteur Metzger, c'est un faux numero)
12- formulate negative and positive comments on things, people, events, (I thought they could have at least the courtesy to let us know before we get in....)

This learning could be done before going to France (Alliance Francaise or French Institute), during a stay as a tourist (while buying a property or discovering the region), or upon arrival (Alliance Francaise again and language schools)

And most of all, do not be afraid to make mistakes while speaking.
I know it is hard to swalow if you are a professional brain surgeon with 30 years experience and the holder of 2 Phds and 2 MBAs.
Just speak it.
French people will love correcting you (in fact they formed a passion for that since the British caught Napoleon at Waterloo, and who knows, they could be genetically programmed to correcting English (Spanish, Arabic as well) speakers with the proper pronunciation). Or so do they believe.
Jaune (yellow) is pronounced in 3 or 4 different manners. Remember I am French.
Just pick the one you like.

I once met a Japanese senior manager ( A national Japanese channel) who came to France for a long term assignment. After 3 years in Paris, all the words in French coming out from his mouth were still not understandable. He got offended.
And took a series of pronunciation lessons. He now speak a perfect French with no accent at all.

Same with an other Japanese who was tasked by his company to learn French in Paris in preparation for his next assignment as a manager in a French speaking country. During a good year of leaning the would be manager did not formulate a correct sentence in French. He eventually met a French girlfriend, and suddenly all went right. Probably the French kiss........

good luck