I'm not French, but I'm there pretty often, so I'll take a stab at it...
I often putter about in the area from Nice north. Toulouse is lovely, but don't neglect Montpellier, Nimes, Avignon etc.
As to Bayonne/Perpignan, the two areas are completely different...Atlantic and surfing vs. Mediterranean and floating, cooler versus hotter in summer even if minimally, Basque vs. Catalan like, although there is bullfighting in Bayonne, different foods, you name it they're different.
If you're going to be in Toulouse, maybe Perpignan makes more sense?
You have to do your research...see what each area has to offer, and if you have to choose, choose the one that most interests you.
Fwiw, I like the area of France bordering on Spain on the east, but Perpignan itself doesn't have a whole lot to offer, in my opinion.
See:
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/a-tale-of-two-cities-biarritz-and-bayonne-1925686.html
I find tripadvisor.com and fodors.com to be very helpful. Be sure to check out the forums.
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/3-days-in-carcassonne-coast-near-perpignan.cfm
Can't help you with meeting French women. I'm the only woman who posts here. It's rather a forum for genetics and history/archaeology, that sort of thing, although you're welcome to post about other things. There are a lot of choices.
In my personal experience the rudeness of Parisians is rather exaggerated, but then I've lived and worked in N.Y.C. for a long time, so perhaps my standards are different.
I'm not saying I like rudeness, but I do like directness, and I have to admit I find some of it rather funny. It helps if you're able to give it back...it makes you feel better, and I think they quite like it too.
I am aware that a lot of variables are at play; whether you're female versus male, what nationality you are, what religion, your own attitude. When in a different country, I try to do as the natives do, so as not to give offense. In the case of France it comes easily as I come from a neighboring country. I adore almost everything, and it shows. That always helps. Whether you're in France or Italy, it helps, for example, if you don't loudly proclaim, when the breakfast baked goods come out, "Haven't they ever heard of bacon and eggs here?"
In Italy we have "Stendhal syndrome", when tourists are overcome through sheer sensory overload, often, but not exclusively when viewing our art. It's sometimes called the "Florence syndrome", or the "Italy syndrome".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stendhal_syndrome
A train line from Paris to Venice used to be called the "Stendhal"; I don't know if that's true any longer.
I didn't think the Japanese were so sensitive, but in Italy as well they seem to suffer more from these collapses than most of our other tourists, although perhaps it's because it's their first experience in the west?