Is the water standing or running? French drains or interior footing drains are normally filled with drainage gravel and patched up with concrete. However, since you still have it open, it may be the right time to verify that the drainage pipe is not clogged and there's slope to deliver the water to the sump pump. In a properly sized and constructed French drain you would not see the water (if it was left open) because it seeps through the gravel down into the perforated pipe and then the pipe drains it into the sump pump well faster than it enters the pipe (which is the whole point of having a pipe or pipes at the bottom of the trench). The pipes do get clogged and that may be what's happening. It could also be improperly installed with little or no slope towards the sump well.
Also, there could just be too much water in the basement in the first place. For example, the sump pump ejected water is not channeled far enough and it enters back. If that's not the case, you will need to investigate installation of an exterior drainage system, most likely also French drain but on the outside of the foundation walls.