The weather in France

NOW I wouldn’t recommend basing your decision on moving to France on just the weather, but it can be a factor.

However, be aware that France can suffer some real extremes, from very high winds to torrential downpours; in March motorways were closed due to snow.

Regionally the country can be split into the western side that enjoys oceanic conditions with warm summers and mild winters.

In the mountains of the Pyrenees, the Alps and Massif Central naturally you will get cold winters and cooler summers.

Towards the east of France from the borders of Luxemburg and Germany down to the foothills of the Alps it will be cold during the winter with hot summers, typically a continental weather system.

Along the Mediterranean coast you will have mild winters and hot summers, but again some parts experienced snow this year.

If you want to do a little more research on past weather conditions for a particular region then the Wunderground website is a useful resource.

On it you can check out monthly averages from the past few years for most of France as it draws its information from airports.

So for example, in May 2004 Bergerac enjoyed a maximum temperature of 30°C, with an average day time temperature of 21°C.

And if you really want to get serious there are stats on wind speeds, dew points and the barometric pressure.

Related article:
Stay up to date on severe weather risks