When I was in my teens, the RAF flew me to Cyprus, free and gratis and purely out of goodwill, enabling me to win a "who can go furthest in a day" initiative test, the runner up got from Kent to Hampshire! All I did was turn up at an airbase and ask nicely, adding that I wanted to be a pilot when I left school, they just happened to have a transport going.

My point being, I bet the French would fall over themselves to show the US what nice people they are, re-establishing the entente-cordial, in the current climate.

Why not pitch your story at the French Embassy/Consulate, they must have supply planes going out from France?