If you are with HSBC in UK you might consider HSBC France. You can manage both UK and French accounts together through Global View, which is very convenient. They have an English-speaking helpline. When I applied (on line) I was allocated an English-speaking account manager, in Limoges which is 100 miles away. I didn't find this particularly useful. My account is now with the Online branch (Champs Elysées) as the nearest branch is 40 miles away in Le Blanc and has reduced opening hours - the only drawback really is the limited number of branches. I have to pay in cheques by post, always a nailbiting experience.
We also have a Britline CA account - again paying in cheques is fun in our local branch because CA Normandie and CA Poitou Touraine are actually different banks. It would be far too easy if CA was a single bank with an integrated computer system, but no, it's more fun this way. CA provide a teeny plastic envelope and you use the machine to print a paying in slip (bordereau). Both the bordereau and the cheque hang out of the envelope even when folded and there's no way of sealing it. The package goes down a chute into the void. The only way for the money to reach your account is by a human being typing the details into another machine at CA Normandie. I have the horrors of the bordereau and the cheque becoming separated. ALWAYS write your name, address and bank account details (the one you're paying the money into) on the back of your cheque! Keep the receipt that's printed alongside the bordereau, and nag your account until it appears as much as three weeks later.