I'm not a full-time algebraic geometer, but I have found both EGA and SGA very useful in my research. I mostly use them for seeking out specific theorems and constructions, but I also do occasional light browsing for "culture". For people who tend toward my sort of use-case, it is probably good to be sufficiently familiar with these works to recognize questions that might be answered in them, but not necessarily able to quote chapter and verse. I don't think I have the attention span (or the time nowadays) to read them front-to-back.

I'm not a full-time algebraic geometer, but I have found both EGA and SGA very useful in my research. I mostly use them for seeking out specific theorems and constructions, but I also do occasional light browsing for "culture". For people who tend toward my sort of use-case, it is probably good to be sufficiently familiar with these works to recognize questions that might be answered in them, but not necessarily able to quote chapter and verse. I don't think I have the attention span (or the time nowadays) to read them front-to-back.

Edit: I should say something about the French. The language in EGA and SGA uses a very restricted vocabulary and simple sentence structure, so you don't run into the sort of elaborate turns of phrase you'd find in e.g., Weil's writing. Once you learn a few standard words, like "soient" and "dans", it's reasonably smooth sailing.