That report is a little vague as it's not clear if it is simply national holidays or any type of holiday. For the former, there is an official list on
www.francetourism.com, as well as on the French Embassy web site (
www.info-france-usa.org). Aside from New Years, Labor Day, the two WW victory days, and Bastille Day, all the rest are religious (some only Catholic). However, there are many other holidays, some local or regional, and more interesting than these national ones like Labor Day (in fact, where and how and who celebrates doesn't make as much sense for national holidays as they are by definition national). For example, Mardi Gras in Feb is a real big deal in Nice. There are many local saints or harvest etc festivals with celebrations. The Rice Festival in Arles is very festive and including the running of the bulls in the street (in Sept), there are harvest festivals in the wine regions, and truffle and chestnut and lavendar festivals in Provence. In the Camargue region, the village Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is known for its local pilgrimages and saints day festivals. There is also the feast of Saint-Sylvester (NY Eve) which is not a national holiday but has a special celebration. Here are some places to look for calendars of local holiday festivals:
www.provence-beyond.com (go to calendar),
www.coteazur.com/calendar.html or
www.coteazur.com/carnival.html for the Nice Mardi Gras,
www.arles.cci.fr/tou/cam/caarfe0.htm for Arles fetes. Finally, the French Culture Minister has a wonderful web site with a very complete description for children of French Christmas customs, go to (
www.culture.fr/culture/noel/noel.htm, there is also an English mirror button on that site if she does not read French). There is a wonderful description of the local festivities in the Camargue on
www.saintesmariesdelamer.com (go to culture or manifestations). If she or you read French, there is a great French kids web site that might be about the right level (
www.momes.net). It has a very good description of the Mardi Gras in Nice festivities in their online kids' dictionary (go to "c", then the special "dossier" on carnaval). If you go with the regular national holidays, as they are not just French except for Bastille Day, you'll find lots of info online if you know how to use a search engine well.
