I know this topic is old, but I just joined the forum and am scanning the topics.   

As a French player on the white side of the board, I play the English.

So, I play the French and the English because well... I'm French Canadian!!! 

I play 1.e4 but then opt for positional lines against Blacks most agressive responses, and i never open the sicilian.
I also play 1.f4 for similiar reasons to why i play the Dutch as black, though i doubt many other french players play the Reverse Leningrad Dutch! 

There is no shame in that approach.  You only have to look at such a great player as Lev Polugaevsky's repertoire: Reti/English and QP with White, but wild Sicilians with Black!
I myself tend to go for sharp openings with Black, but play to preserve an edge with White.  The 'philosophy', insofar as there is one, is based on the speculation that White's initial advantage is quite small and that with White, you are more likely to preserve that advantage if you do not bring matters to a premature head.
Equally, with Black, if you don't seek to force things, you risk being at a permanent (albeit slight) disadvantage.
As I say, though, this is just speculation ...

I am not a lifetime French player, but it has been and maybe again will be part of my repertoire. I usually play 1.e4.