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First, you'll probably know that the standard meaning for "holiday" here is the equivalent of your "bank holiday". My company observes 8 of those a year (Christmas and either Christmas Eve or the day after Christmas depending on what day of the week it is, New Years Day, Memorial Day in late May, Independence Day (July 4), Labor Day in early September, and two days at Thanksgiving in late November). Years ago, it was common for companies here to also have other days off on Columbus Day, Easter, or Presidents' Day. Instead, my company gives me two "floater" holidays which I can use to take off any two days of the year I wish and for any reason. I would be curious about the number of bank holidays in France and the U.K.
For vacation (what you would call holidays), it is common here to give about two weeks of vacation each year to full-time employees, at least after a year of employment. Many companies, like mine, increase that amount the longer you work with the company. I now get 5 weeks vacation annually because I have over 20 years with the company and when I reach 30 years with them I'll max out at 6 weeks per year.
I should say that business surveys here have discovered that we've been developing a rather nasty habit of not using the vacation we're granted because we're afraid of losing our jobs or getting behind. So of the two weeks of vacation granted to employees, some of that usually goes unused for the average worker here.
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