For the Danes: the sound Ø is closer to the sound for LE. The sound Æ is the closer for the sound LES . The S is silent.
For the Greeks: The sound Le is the characteristic French E sound ( eu), and the LES is the Greek E sound.
So le garcon, and les garcons has an indication of plural, ONLY by the article, pronounced ai. Other than that everything else sounds the same. This is just one sound our of the many, that change the meaning of a phrase.
This is what it is CRUCIAL, that we learn the 4-6 sounds that are created out of 10 to 12 combinations. That way, knowing how to separate them in writing but also orally, allows us to READ, and be understood when we talk.
I had the fortune to study voice positioning when I was a singer and I have incorporated exercises, and the stubbornness needed to get you through that first stage of awkward and funny faces, funny sounds, till you feel the satisfaction to be able to READ correctly. That is the first and most important challenge and half the mountain conquered.
Here are the combinations of the letter A