Public holidays in France: dates and what closes

The eleven national public holidays

The movable three, and the regional two

Easter Monday, Ascension and Whit Monday all shift with Easter, so their dates change every year. The rules are fixed even though the dates are not: Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday, Ascension always falls on a Thursday thirty-nine days after Easter, and Whit Monday comes fifty days after. Look up the year you are travelling rather than assuming last year's pattern.

Alsace-Moselle — the départements of Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin and Moselle — keeps two additional public holidays under local law: Good Friday and 26 December. Everywhere else in mainland France, 26 December is an ordinary working day, which regularly catches out visitors who expect a Boxing Day.

The French overseas départements each add a commemoration of the abolition of slavery, on a date specific to the territory.

What actually closes

• 1 May is the strictest day of the year. It is the only public holiday that is obligatorily non-working for essentially all employees, and closures are close to universal — far more so than on any other date on the list.
• On other public holidays the picture is mixed: large shops usually close, bakeries and small food shops often open in the morning, and restaurants make their own call.
• Museums and monuments commonly close on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. Many also close one fixed day every week regardless of holidays, so check the specific site before building a day around it.
• Public transport runs a reduced, Sunday-style timetable on public holidays. It keeps running — it just runs less often.
• Banks, post offices and public administration close on all of them.

Ponts, August, and school holidays

When a public holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, a great many people take the intervening Monday or Friday off as well. This is called making the pont — the bridge — and it turns a single holiday into a four-day weekend. May is the month where this bites hardest, with three holidays clustered together; expect full trains, full hotels and higher prices around them.

August is a bigger deal than any individual holiday. Large numbers of independent restaurants, bakeries and neighbourhood shops close for several weeks of annual leave, and this is most noticeable in Paris. The museums and the tourist infrastructure stay open; the ordinary life of the city thins out considerably.

French school holidays are staggered across three zones so that the whole country does not travel at once. Winter and spring holidays fall on different weeks depending on the zone, which spreads the domestic peaks — but the summer holidays and the Christmas holidays are national, and those are genuinely busy everywhere.

• Festivals in France
• Christmas in Paris
• Paris events calendar

FAQ

How many public holidays does France have?

Eleven nationally. Alsace-Moselle keeps two more — Good Friday and 26 December — under local law, and the overseas départements each add a commemoration of the abolition of slavery.

What happens if a French public holiday falls on a weekend?

Nothing. France does not move a public holiday to the following weekday and gives no substitute day off, so a holiday landing on a Saturday or Sunday is simply lost that year.

Is everything closed on public holidays in France?

It depends on the day. 1 May is the one where closures are near-universal — it is the only holiday legally non-working for essentially all employees. On the others, large shops usually close while bakeries and small food shops often open in the morning, and transport runs a reduced timetable.

Is 26 December a public holiday in France?

Only in Alsace-Moselle — the départements of Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin and Moselle. In the rest of mainland France it is a normal working day.

What is a "pont" in France?

When a public holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, many people take the Monday or Friday in between off as well, bridging the holiday into a long weekend. May, with three holidays close together, is when this most affects travel and prices.

Should I avoid France in August?

Not avoid, but plan for it. Many independent restaurants and neighbourhood shops close for several weeks of annual leave, most visibly in Paris, while museums and tourist infrastructure stay open. September is generally the better month for the same weather with none of the shutdown.