The Ryoken landmark has received a significant buff, especially in this matchup, being able to heal your units when the French have access to Chivalry. Chivalry takes quite a bit of an investment, while a landmark starts working immediately.

If Sengoku has the movement speed upgrade for Yari cavalry, French knights cannot pull away and risk getting surrounded.

Transitioning into Yari cavalry forces French knights back into their base, preventing the raiding that is the French's bread and butter.

Sangoko Damio's horsemen do extra damage to cavalry. So really, I think they can stand toe-to-toe against those French knights. Obviously, if they don't get the charge off, especially if you can block that charge somehow or take the fight without getting charged, I think the horsemen really pound‑for‑pound pack a good punch into those French knights.

Going for those three Yatais, you can often get away with it as a singu. But against a civilization like the French, that delays your age up quite significantly indeed. And if you don't have those spears up quickly enough to actually defend your very first trader, that's going to be a problem.