Perfectly normal for the Ascension Weekend… in my experience.
The problem I have always had living in France is tourism.
France is economically built on tourism. But tourism is killing France environmentally.
The south of France is already on critical alert for water (as one example) and in July and August millions will visit the area…eating , drinking, and flushing the loo.
Then you have the planes and the cars and the rubbish and everything else.
Then we have the forest fires
If they don’t slow down on tourism, this will not end well for France.
The problem is that for many areas tourism has become an essential part of their economy.
It is not just in France, but Cornwall is a tourist hotspot and full of second homes.
Young people cannot afford to live in their own areas.
Having said that I remember being stuck in a traffic jam on Bodmin Moor over 50 years ago and having to stop overnight with a friend in the Cotswolds as I was too tired to drive any further.
We were chock a block with “tourists” for the Ascension long-weekend… most of 'em down from Paris and other large cities… arriving Wednesday so as not to miss a minute of the fun and frolics…
Many were, in fact, returning to their “roots” and visiting their extended family… it was a wonderful 4 days…
Thursday was Fête Day, chaotic and exhausting
Friday was calm and peaceful (everyone was shattered)
Saturday was market day, bustling with lots of chat and laughter
Sunday was “let’s make the most of the countryside/garden…”
Sunday night/Monday was the trip back from whence they had come…
Move to a tourist area and that it what happens.
And this is the question, why move to a tourist area ?
I fear you’ve misunderstood… 
We haven’t moved to a tourist area…
Sorry…I reread your post.
Where I live, come any bank holiday or vacance period….it is bliss. No traffic, no queues in the shops, just tranquility.
Last weekend there was no one. The place was deserted.
The best time for a holiday is when everyone has gone on holiday.
So how is the weekend of the 14/15/16th July likely to be? We’ve booked to come over then in the hope of being part of what ever the village is doing, but mildly concerned if it will be a ‘black’ travel time.
There’ll surely be " Friday, 14th July" festivities across France on the day itself and the Weekend too …
If you can travel on the Wednesday 12th July… thus be calmly in situ by Thursday 13th… so much the better…
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Thanks - we were planning to head back on Saturday, having arrived the weekend before. My hope was that any ‘craziness’ would have happened on the fete day, and if people were making a weekend of it then they’d be heading home Sunday, rather than Saturday. Is this assumtpion badly flawed?
Thats good both us and our friends are 1 day either side of likely busy times 
you can see what is predicted… Saturday and Sunday 15/16th will be horrendous… Monday 17th would be best…
Depends where you are going to and from which port.
It only tends to be black on autoroutes from or in a direction of a major city.
We’d be on the autoroute from Troyes to Calais, so no major cities, but some small ones. We could move by a couple of days, but lose a weekend.
Youre doing something wrong there, should be moving it a couple of days and gaining another weekend 
The only problems I can see is getting through Dover, once into France take your normal route, then you may have a bit of slow traffic on the A6 after either the Auxerre or Avallon exits, either way you can take the secondary roads if you know in advance and much more scenic.
Listen to Radio autoroute 107.7
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Have water/drinks and sandwiches etc… in case you get stuck in traffic/get lost 
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You could go Caen - Le Mans - Orleans (rn)-Troyes.
Apart from maybe Orleans, I can’t see you hitting any trouble.
Your biggest headache will be Dover and Reims on your route. Looks longer to do it that way. Unless you live in Dover…lol
Our route is fixed with the tunnel - the extra 1.5 hours to Folkestone over Portsmouth is offset by the 6 hour crossing, not to mention much higher cost. And the tunnel is booked and paid.
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