Originally Posted by noah

You didn't say what class you were traveling in.

SFO-IAD-CDG works fairly well on the outbound because the connections are decent, you can get E+ all the way (even on the CO 757) which I'll be honest, I don't really mind. I also find IAD connections more tolerable than EWR connections. Maybe its just me. Otherwise, I agree with a previous poster that FRA is a great choice.

If you are open to other *A carriers, noting the lack of E+ and lifetime UA miles, CDG-YYZ/YUL-SFO is a good routing and you get the advantage of clearing US CBP in Canada rather than the zoo that is IAD and EWR. Alternatively, one thing that hasn't been mentioned is SFO-MUC-CDG. I really like the late night departure from SFO, so you can actually sleep, and MUC is a joy of an airport to transit.