Aperol spritzes in France!!?

Yes, Aperol Spritz is now very common in urban France and is usually just known as Spritz.
The traditional equivalent would be a much-sweeter Kir, a mix of blackcurrant (or other fruit) liqueur and white wine (or sparkling "crémant", or champagne in the case of Kir Royal - but that's a waste of good champagne, if you ask me).

Mojitos are everywhere, too, but that's not what you're asking.

A classic in the south is pastis, an anise-flavored liquor to which you add water to your liking. With a touch of genadine syrup, it's a "tomate" and with a touch of mint syrup, it's a "perroquet." The tomates are my favorite. Many brands are available, the most common being Pastis 51 and Ricard.

Yes, Aperol Spritz is widely drunk (and marketed) here. You won't have to miss your favorite tipple !

It has taken over not only Europe...but the World. There are variations on the spritz as well, with Campari, Limoncello, the Hugo (elderflower liquor), you might even see Bellini's.

What has been mentioned as options are all good lighter choices. Liquors are popular, Pastis is an old favorite, other bitter or herbal liquors as well...might be a bit too much for your tastes. Calvados, apple brandy, might be worth trying, some have it on ice.

I really like Lillet. A glass of chilled Lillet Blanc is a nice aperitif on a hot day. There is also a rouge and a rose version.

Oh, you'll chuckle when you walk down a street of cafes filled with 20-something's after work....lots of Aperol spritzing going on!

Good to hear that we can enjoy town square cafes with an Aperol spritz. I've written down your other suggestions to try. Good thing we have 20 days since the list is long. Thanks.

Since you made a list, just to point out that Bets forgot another important variant of Pastis, it's the one with orgeat syrup. It is called "Mauresque".
A rarer variant is the one with Coca cola, it's "un Mazout" (fuel oil) or "un Gas oil"
Instead of Pastis we can say "Pastaga"

Some other tips about drink names if you want to impress your friends:

If you are not thirsty enough for a "Demi" (a 25cl glass of draft beer) you can ask for "un Galopin" which corresponds to half of a demi, i.e. 12.5cl.
A beer is also called "une mousse".

A glass of lemonade with syrup is called a "Diabolo". We order it by saying "a diabolo .. followed by the flavor of the syrup. (diabolo lemon, diabolo mint, diabolo strawberry, etc).

But you can also replace the lemonade with sparkling water. In this case, the term Diabolo is replaced by the brand name of the sparkling water.
Example: "un Perrier citron" (Perrier with lemon syrup) , "un Vichy fraise" (Vichy with strawberry syrup)

But you should not confuse the "Perrier citron" with the "Perrier rondelle" (Perrier slice). The Perrier slice does not contain lemon syrup, only a slice of lemon.

And finally, instead of bar or café, you can use another name and say Troquet or Rade or Bistro. If it's not chic at all, it's a Boui-Boui.

@JoLui, now we need to clarify that what you are talking about is limonade /lee mon odd/ a sparkling lemon water, whereas the English word, lemonade, is what is called citron pressé (squeezed lemon) in French. I ordered a few strange drink combinations before I figured that out.

yes nothing more disappointing than to order lemonade and discover it is 7-up. citron presse is often presented as a separate pitcher of water and lemon juice with sugar you add to taste. The diabolo uses 7-up type lemonish soda and then adds a syrup. The first ones I saw were neon green. I asked the women drinking them what they were and they explained -- mint syrup and 'lemonade' --which sounds icky to me, but they have them also with lemon syrup raspberry syrup and other flavors.

Citron pressé with a Perrier (instead of tap water) is my favorite.
But we’re digressing, i think packcat was asking about alcoholic drinks… ; )

I'm a moron, I had forgotten that the French term "Limonade" and the American "Lemonade" are not quite the same drink. Traditional French limonade is made from fermented lemons which makes it sparkling. But actually the industrial lemonade that we drink in bars and cafés is closer to the Seven Up than to the lemonade made by grandma.
The US lemonade is called "Citronnade" in France.

Wikipedia tells me that American lemonade comes from French limonade.
At some point someone changed the recipe while crossing the Atlantic :))

"But we’re digressing, i think packcat was asking about alcoholic drinks… ; )"

Yes, I was asking about refreshing alcoholic drinks to ease the hot summer days...
BTW, it's packcal, not packcat, however i like your version better.

Got it packcal… small blue text on an iPhone at night, lol. Cheers!