My purpose of travel is to attend an academic conference at Amsterdam.
I'm also planning to visit Paris before attending the conference. So, my first port of entry is Paris.
Where should I apply for my Schengen visa? I want to apply at the French embassy as the processing time is fast. Is this fine?
You should apply to the Netherlands for your visa.
The Schengen visa rules say that you should apply to the country which is your main destination for the entire trip. If there is no main destination, you apply to the country you spend the most days in, or if you spend the same amount of time in each country, then to the country you will enter first.
Because you are going to an academic conference in Amsterdam, and presumably would not travel at all if you were not going to the conference (and thus would not go to Paris), the Netherlands is easily identified as your main destination.
Note that if you apply to France, they may reject your application and advise you to apply to the Netherlands instead.
