Do not take French to "Stand out from the crowd", I know the feeling when there are so many people better than you...but you just have to deal with the fact that we may not have as much intellect as them. The only way we can substitute intellect is with hard work.
Seriously, it's very easy if you get an A if you study NOW. It doesn't matter if you didn't do it before, and don't think 1 month is enough. 1 month is enough to get you a B or a C, but if you truly want to "stand out" and beat everyone else, attempt to revise past papers and do everything now.
Edit: And no, you are not screwed for the A levels don't worry.