PROS

- the weather if you like hot weather. It can be quite windy, but going for a picnic on the beach in February has its nice aspects

- there is a techhnopole at Sophia-Antipolis where they hire on a regular basis

- skiing: the Alps are close, or the Pyrenées - depending on where you are

- the views are really nice and vary a lot

CONS:

- the weather, it is too hot :)

- road communication is complicated, public transports are not great either

- prices of housing are high (depends on the place, obviously)

My preference would be places such as Nantes or Rennes (western part of France), or the western coast of the Atlantic (below Brittany: Charente Maritime, Vendée, ...)