You have put it well: universities are ranked using quantified indices. By definition, publishing in francophone journals that do not have this concept of impact factor means that if you publish only in French, you are kind of losing before you begin.
I think this is coming back. We talked about recommendations earlier. The universities can collaborate, but I think a joint effort needs to be made at a much higher level. It might mean rethinking the formula for ranking universities and exactly what we want to value, beyond an impact factor.