Hi Les - definitely a good idea to plan in advance... just spent a month in France in areas that are alledgedly stiff with folk music (Auvergne, High Languedoc, Midi Pyranees, Upper Loire... need I go on - ha!) and found nowt. I assumed I would just come across stuff. Didn't even find any shops selling folk music CDs let alone live music. I narrowly missed a concert by a French folk band who played Irish, American and Scottish (but strangely, not French) folk, but that was it.

Got some fantastic CDs of ecstatic hurdy gurdy & bagpipe grooving from Cuberoots on my return, though. And there's lots of fab French folk on Myspace. I'll post some links when I get home if you like...