I played the exchange with 4.c4 OTB for a while. I had a pretty good score with it. I think 75% and no losses after 6 or 8 games. Something like that.
I think white is free to choose the exchange, but the french player isn't so free to choose stuff like 3...dxe lines and e.g. the fort knox. White just gets really nice positions.
So yeah, the French is fine, but I feel like black has fewer options.
Question: Is the French Defence really that good?
Why do I ask?
Because 2/3 of my Black French games seem to be the Exchange French.
Newsflash: THE EXCHANGE FRENCH IS CRAP FOR WHITE. GROW SOME AND PLAY SOMETHING THAT WILL GIVE YOU AN ADVANTAGE!!
Before you start, I have a healthy + score on the Black side of the French Exchange.