In French primary school , the teachers have so called liberté pédagogique. It means that no-one in the universe can force them to teach following a specific method: they are in charge and free to decide for the pedagogy they want. Let's be straight forward: if you don't like it, change school, there is no battle to be won at all.
But this has a very nice side : Go to the school that are in your short list, have a talk with the director and look at the class rooms. Don't forget to ask the ultimate question: méthode globale ou méthode syllabique? That's how they teach to read and write. You don't want méthode globale for learning French, really don't. But you might get a mix of the two methods, usually called "semi-globale". It is normal in France to go and get the methods and activities explained before enrolling your child (but don't be an inquisitor!).
German in France : it depends. Anything is possible. However, we are talking of Geneva region, which means that German is not exactly on their mind when they plan education. Make notes:
- Primary school: language initiation, in most cases it's English, so you have to ask each school if they have German as it is getting extremely rare. That being said, it's language learning "light". Foreign languages are middle school subjects in France and they focus heavily on French and maths. Students with no foreign language initiation catch up in English or German within months in middle school anyway.
- Secondary school: Grade 6th (sixième), students are 11 y.o. when entering the so called collège (middle school) with one foreign language, it 90% of cases it's English but if you are lucky, they offer German if they have enough students and a teacher, as this is getting more and more rare nowadays to start with German before English. Check in your middle school of choice if they offer another first foreign language (be careful, second language is called première langue as they only count the foreign ones). Attention: some schools offer a so called section bilangue, students take two foreign languages right at start of secondary school. This is not the normal choice, one has to apply for it, it's for children who are at ease with school in general.
- Secondary school: Grade 4th (quatrième) students are 13 y.o. when entering (probably grade 8 in UK). There come normally the second foreign language, it's Spanish for a majority of students, but one might be able to choose other languages depending on the school (in big cities, there is a huge choice, not in small places). German used to be a common choice, it is not every where the case any more... as always, each school is different, one has to ask. They have the right to discontinue languages on offer from one year to the next for optimization of the human resources, so here again, make an appointment.
- High school. Anything is possible, but not in every school. There are brochures for each school sector with offers and admission prerequisite. Depending on the grades and geographical-administrative divisions, you'll have many or few possibilities.
Quality of education is very relative, in any country. Things are just different. French school is academic. Grades are serious. I've been in both French and German school systems as a student, and I can only warn about underestimating the work load in the French system. It's intense. Good memory. self discipline, high capacity of abstraction in both math and literature, understanding the importance of history/geography in the French school culture, understanding and accepting that French essays are not at all what UK essays are (UK parents won't be able to help there), accepting that the academic expectations are higher than what the system itself is able to give support for.... and also accepting that French school is about analyzing, proof and argument, not applying, concrete life and opinions. French school is basically a 18th century enlightenment's dream come true... but the Kant style, not Rousseau style.
Generally speaking, there is little difference in primary school. The early language program is one of them. The big one is early streaming in Switzerland vs. late streaming in France . It is normal in France to keep the whole nation's children in the same school until they are 14 y.o. in a common middle school and the main streaming takes place when entering high school. There are then four main possibilities, depending on how professional/technical it is. In Switzerland, the differentiation takes place already in middle school to a certain extent. I'll be honest with you: In France, you are nothing an nobody without baccalauréat whereas in Switzerland, you are what you have learnt as a profession and that can be it with or without the maturité.