Upvote:5
Because the US has not signed the 1968 convention, much less ratified it, you cannot get a 1968 permit on the basis of a US license. That your license was obtained in exchange for a French license does not change this.
Therefore, you can only get a 1968 permit on the basis of your French license. In addition, such a permit is not valid unless accompanied by your French license. So as long as your French license is impounded in the French consulate, you will be unable to get a 1968 permit.
Whether and how the French authorities would be willing to issue a permit to you depends on some other circumstances, first if all whether you maintain "rΓ©sidence normale" in France.