Yes, I'm relearning both those openings, too, and I'm struck by the high similarity of both, especially in bishop placement (White's bishops striving for Bd3 and Bf4, for example) and pawn structures. The trap into which I keep falling is that I keep forgetting that in the Caro-Kann, Black can move his queen out easily on the queen side with Qb6, which attacks my b2 square, so I have to keep remembering not to bring my QB out too early because it leaves b2 undefended. That's not true in the French, so that forces some changes in move order for White.
P.S.--I'll admit it: I'm one of those no-good, low-down, dadburn *Exchange* players, which is partly why those openings turn out looking almost the same in my games.
From the white side of the board, for quite some time, I have played the Tarrasch variation of the French and the advanced variation of the Caro Kann. I took a hiatus from chess recently and upon returning had to relearn much of my openings. On taking inventory I noticed it odd that I play the advanced Caro Kann but play the Tarrasch French... Instead of relearning the Tarrasch French wouldn't it make sense to learn the advanced French defense? Is there quite a bit of overlap of the structures? If anyone plays or is experienced in both these openings, their input would be most appreciated.
P.S. I suspect the opposite question could be posed about learning the Nd2 variation of the Caro Kann (is that what's it called?) but I already invested a lot of time relearning that opening and am currently up to tackling the French hence how this arose. Once again, thanks!