Not being familiar with French dust bins or what we Americans call trash cans, would these be suitable for a WW2 scene and if so for other European countries as well?

Before the normalisation (in the 60s), in France everyone put his bin on the curb. These bins could be anything which could contain trash. But you could find some bins like the ones proposed by MK35, these were ex-washing pots "liberated" when washing machines began to be affordable. They were made in galvanized iron.

Thank you PDEBUCQUOY for educating me on the issue.

In November 1883 the prefect of the Seine Eugène Poubelle signs the famous decree forcing the Parisian householders to supply to each of their tenants a container with a cover big enough to contain the household rubbish. So the dustbins appear. In the same time begins the dustbin collecting called poubelle ! Diverse shapes and matters are used until the year 1900 where some metallic dustbins in galvanized steel are chosen. MK35

So...in a roundabout way you're saying that these ash cans can be used for WW2 then, right? While the history lesson is appreciated I just want to make sure.

Yes they were used during WWII in the big French towns. MK35