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Customs and traditions
France is noted for its cosmopolitan, civilised approach to life, combined with great concern for style, fashion and appearances. French people are sometimes perceived as taking a great pride in the national identity and positive achievements of France, although many French people would argue that all nations tend to do that.
French customs for first and last names may occasionally be puzzling to foreigners
Politeness
French people address each other with formality, calling each other Madame, Mademoiselle or Monsieur in a way which may seem formulaic to outsiders, but signifies a respect for the individual which permeates the French way of life. Similarly, it is expected that social interaction should be preceded by a bonjour or bonsoir (or more familiar) greeting, even in shops and other services. Failing to abide by those rules is considered rude.
One generally does not refer to third parties by their last names only; this is generally considered impolite. This is however done at the workplace, in business relations, and in military contexts. In some contexts it is customary to call males by their last names only, but to be polite to females by using Madame or Mademoiselle.
The French language has two ways of addressing individual people in the second person (corresponding to the English "you"):
The formal way is to use the plural vous; talking in that fashion is called vouvoyer. This puts some distance between the person who speaks and the person addressed, shows some respect to the other person, and is the normal and appropriate way to discuss matters between strangers, or business contacts, or for a child to address an adult outside his family. Using vous is the safe solution in most contexts. The informal way is to use the singular tu (corresponding to the archaic "thou" in English); talking in that fashion is called tutoyer. It expresses some kind of intimacy, and sometimes some lack of respect for the other person. It is the common way to address people in one's own family, or one's closest colleagues, or to talk to a small child. It is also common among the youth; students address each other with tu unless the age difference is large. Prior to the French revolution, it was also the way bourgeois or noble people addressed servants. One should especially beware of interactions when one party says vous to the other and the other uses tu. This may be interpreted as very rude and demeaning behavior from the party using tu. As an example, in police fiction, the police often addresses suspects as tu in order to be demeaning.
Familiar greetings
One of the first things some people note in France is the kissing on both cheeks (not always involving making contact with the lips) between two people. Family members generally kiss each other this way. In young and familiar settings, males generally kiss females in the same way. Similar kissing between males is common in the southeast, but uncommon in other regions.
In other settings, especially in business settings, the protocol is to shake hands.