Hi boroangel,
7 weeks in France, followed by 2 weeks holiday. WOW !!!
There are so many, so many options.
I think you've got a lot of constructive advice already.
You can use the weekends to travel to Paris and the neighbouring cities. I am not so familiar with France, but if you are interested, I can loan you my EyeWitness guide to France.
..........
For the 2 weeks holiday, after your work is over, I would second zossh's suggestion. Stick to one country rather than hopping from one country to another.
My suggestion would be to spend 2 weeks in Italy.
You can do a South to North trip eg. Naples (2), Rome (4), Florence (2), Pisa (1), Milan (2), Venice (2). The number in brackets indicate the number of nights you can stay in each of the cities. You can travel to/from all these cities by train - this will help save costs.
Good luck to you for your work and holiday. :thumbsup:
And yeah, do come back and let us know how it all went.