Russian National wishes to get a Student visa in France

Hi there,
I am posting for a friend of mine. I personally dislike the third party post but since I am just looking for direction so I can research the info, I'd appreciate what tidbits may be available.
Bascially, my French friend wants his Russian girlfriend to come to France. This is a developing relationship so he'd rather not get a spousal permit as the point is to see if they want to go to the next level. In any case, does anyone know what are the basic views of the French govt toward Russian immigrants and/or the best approach toward student application for visas. Evidently, they applied for a student visa but were refused and as my friend put it, they were a bit astonished. I don't have any more details at this point. However if someone knows the govt stance is and the best way to Spammy Spammer the process, I'd love to hear from you.
Thanks
syh