Why do some top players play French Defense?

Hi! 

I was at my academy today and our sir showed us some games of his. The games were played  by 2000-2300 ELO approx players. I saw that my Sir played the French. I've heard that GingerGM also plays (or played) the French. What is with this opening?

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Playing the Fort Knox variation is acceptable. 

Because they are French.

its a bit off topic i know, but what does your academy look like? like how strong are the people there. who are the coaches/instructors there? are they titled players.

whenever i hear of countries with chess academies, i get so jelly. lucky you guys.

Some openings (like the French Defense) are simply not too popular over 2000 rating - but this is not to say that the opening is not "strong." The French Defense is a solid opening: clearly the 2000+ rated players know which variations to avoid. There are many openings that are not "common" but a strong player specializes in; there are simply other options preferred by many, but this does not mean that the French Defense is not solid. It merely states that the majority of players prefer something else.

its third most common reply to 1.e4. how is that "not too popular"?

"not too popular" by high rated players, as the original poster pointed out. Keep in mind that "third most common ..." is among ALL ratings in the pool used to evaluate approximate winning chances from a given opening. I used to play the French Defense myself; I just do not see it being "too popular" at higher level play.

I wonder when was the last time a World Champion played the French Defense in a World Championship match game.  Please post the answer if you know it.  Thanks!

Its a solid dependable opening.