@Cdclp, now that your database is setup in utf8 (you ran the "Convert DB to UTF8" script, right?) and you've set your french.php file to indicate that the site uses UTF8 as its encoding scheme ... it's time to update your language files (like that define_contact_us.php).

It looks like that file (and most likely others that you've "carried over" from your 1.3.9h/ASCII version) is still ASCII-encoded; that's where the funny symbols originate.

What you can do is use a file-editor (like NotePad++ ... not Word or DreamWeaver) and, for each file (NotePad++):
  1. Open the existing file, e.g. define_contact_us.php.
  2. Click the "Encoding" tab. If it shows "Encode in UTF-8", you're finished for this file. Continue, otherwise.
  3. Open a new file, click the "Encoding" tab and make sure that "Encode in UTF-8" is selected.
  4. Go back to the original file, press Ctrl+a (to select all) and then Ctrl+c (to copy those contents).
  5. Click over to the new file and paste (Ctrl+v) the contents you just copied, converting those contents to UTF-8.
  6. Save the original file as a backup, e.g. define_contact_us.php~
  7. Save the new file as the to-be-used name, e.g. define_contact_us.php

It's a lengthy process, but hopefully you don't have many language files to handle!