HEC Paris ($) vs INSEAD (-)?

Got it. You will probably have to beef French up just to make do on a day to day basis and make it more enjoyable but not something to do per se in the long term.

I guess the other main difference would be an internship - perhaps Microsoft EU office or Google EU - I am guessing with fewer highly-ranked business schools in Europe, there may be more opportunities or chances for those opportunities - I would be very curious to ask the HEC students about how the internship recruiting works and if there is on-campus recruiting or you have to network ... while the current students won't tell you about how many people converted or how hard/easy it is to convert internships (it is usually hard) they can at least tell you about what options are presented on campus (and you should expect to pain a rosier picture - it always is that way but I would probably try to find someone who is American and perhaps expect they will open up about challenges and reality of the MBA - it is stressful and there is failure involved, and it can bet uncomfortable.)

Good luck with your decision!