setting localization

[Nehal Mistry]

How do i set up localization, i have tried setting LC_ALL and LANG but it doesnt work, i tried fr_FR and stuff like that but doesnt work, ie.

export LC_ALL=fr_FR
and
export LC_ALL=fr
but neither work

i have all the .mo files in /usr/share/locale/fr , PS i tried with parted and mc, neither work..

what am i missing?