The French Future tenses

French and English use the future tense in a very similar way.
French also uses its simple present in order to describe actions that are planned to be done in the near future.
In this case, English would use the present progressive.

There are two future tenses in the French language:
→ futur composé
→ futur simple
The usage of both future tenses are mainly similar.

The French ‘futur simple’ is commonly used in a more colloquial, everyday way/manner, whereas the 'futur composé' (also referred to as 'futur proche') is more likely to be used if an action in the close future is described.
Even if it is not 100% translatable it might be best to think of it according to the distinction between the 'going to' and 'will future'.

Please note: The main difference between these two French future tenses is in which form they are used. Written (futur simple) or spoken (futur proche) form.