Just to make sure I wasn't doing anything wrong, I installed a new 2.4.1-RC1 in another disk. During installation I was asked the language of my choice and chose 'en_GB' and couldn't change to 'en_US' everything was in its default settings. When done with the installation I quit without lunching the game.
Lunched the .exe from the Start menu and I got the french version. The .cmd doesn't lunch.
Important Note: I use Total Commander from Ghisler.com as a windows browser and that's how I was able to modify the .exe file to the .cmd file. You can't do it from the default windows browser. It doesn't show the properties tab.
(Modulo the mystery of why you ended up with an incorrect shortcut.)
So, what's the correct shortcut?
In the Freeciv Folder, the exe file shows with the bronze globe icon. The cmd file does not. So if anybody wanted to create a shortcut he-she would choose the exe file, naturally. And that was the origin of my woes.