Interesting, that hasn’t been my experience. I found that French people appreciated that I’d made an attempt…
That was also my experience in Parisian places of business. In terms of the streets, I agree with OP they were less motivated to engage.
In terms of rural areas, I wouldn’t be surprised if dialectical française was the only thing spoken or listened to… kind of a different situation entirely. For example, one might be completely fluent at course-taught or Parisian French, and still have a devil of a time.
Thirded. Had zero trouble. Made sure the prerequisite greeting was in place and was able to ask if they spoke English, absolutely use the please and thank you, everything went fine. Never encountered anyone rude, even if English wasn’t spoken people were generally helpful or at least willing to figure out what was needed.
Courtesy and understanding go a long way.