I would suggest going through any other EU embassy...

I would suggest going through any other EU embassy if you have that option. French ask you for ridiculous paperwork that is literally last century. They don't except hotel confirmation in PDF - it literally has to be faxed from France and the rsv has to be under your own name. Since my boyfriend made our reservation and we don't have the same last name, I got denied visa after waiting for 2 hours. I have tons of Schengen visas in my passport and have never had such poor experience overall. Have been to France many times over as a tourist and I don't know what happened to the NY embassy - the overall experience used to be so much better. Not its overcrowded, overbooked, and staff less.