It will make a nice beater. I would have placed it a bit later based on color and decal (around 1973), but a six digit number suggests 60's. I've not seen many UEs in the metal; it's brother the UO is more common. You might check the underside of the bottom bracket shell and see if another number is there; they are usually on a metal plate.
My advice is to keep it overhauled. Cared for, it may run forever. Do what you feel is necessary to make it a comfortable rider for you. If that means switching the bars out, do so. But be warned: the French bars on this bike are a slightly different diameter than today's bars, so you may run into difficulties. You may want to read this for a primer on working on old French bikes:
http://sheldonbrown.com/velos.html
It is likely the bike has steel rims. If you are making it a rider, switch them out for alloy-- you will notice a marked increase in braking power. You might also consider changing the cottered crank to a cotterless. This will ease over haul.