First of all check the French Fencing Federation's website (all in French, but I assume that's not a problem for you if you are going there)
Address is
http://www.escrime-ffe.fr
Another helpful link is
http://www.escrime-info.com which I would describe as a French Fencing.Net ;-).
Second, depending on the school and the region you are going to, you may or may not have a fencing program there. The school I went to, for example, did not have one, so I had to start it. The difference with the US, I guess, is that it was generally accepted that it was viable to start a fencing club and getting funding wasn't so hard as it would be here.
Where are you planning on going? I could maybe give you more information if you tell me a little more about the school you are going to, etc.