I walked from Le Puy in 2017. It was an "accidental pilgrimage", I had stumbled across a $200 round trip ticket to Paris a week before and immediately bought it. My French was rusty at best, and I had little time to brush up-- either speaking French or walking up hills!
It was easy to meet up with people!
There was a "Friends of the Camino" place right near the cathedral where they offered aperitifs in the late afternoon. Also, I stayed at Accueil Saint-François, a convent in the old city where over a shared meal, I met some pilgrims from Montreal and Quebec City. One spoke English well, the others had English better than my French, but not by much. There were also two men from Burgundy who spoke no English, but became my favorites after a few days as they kept an eye out for me and were markedly kind. We all ended up walking together, or sometimes walking apart and coming back together again at the end of the day.
Make sure you get to the early mass at the cathedral before you set out walking. When I was there, mass and a pilgrim blessing was at 7am. There is a surprise at the end after the blessing as you go on your way.
Oh! And also get some hill walking practice before you get there. It will make the walk in France much more pleasant.
Bon chemin!
