Hi dmelanco,
You cannot install a localized patch (e.g. French, Italian, Chinese, etc.) over an English version of ALM and vice-versa. Both the ALM server installation and the patch that will be later installed on top of it should be in the same language version. And yes, you are correct that there is Patch 01 in French, while there is not Patch 02 in French, but only in English. This is because HP do not localize all the patch they release. However the next patch that will be released for ALM11.52 (patch 03, expected to be release by the end of April, begining of May) will be localized. So if you go ahead and install ALM11.52 French, then you should wait until Patch 03 French is released and then install it. Please note that all ALM patches are cumulative, which means that patch 03 will include al bug fixes and enhancements that were introduced in patches 01 and 02. Please also note that HP recently released ALM12.00, so i would recommend considering upgrading directly to version 12, without upgrading to 11.52 first. Hope this information helps!
Thanks,
Hristo