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Public holidays in France

11 days in 2026 · 11 in 2027

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Next public holiday

All Saints' Day

Toussaint

After it: Armistice Day, Wednesday 11 November

Sunday, 1 November 2026

France has 11 public holidays, jours fériés, and none of them moves when it lands on a weekend: 9 fall on a weekday in 2026 and only 7 in 2027, when 1 May, 8 May and 25 December are Saturdays and 15 August a Sunday. Only 1 May is by law a paid day off for every employee. Whether work stops on the other ten is set by collective agreement or, failing one, by the employer.

The calendar also differs by place. Under a local law going back to an ordinance of 16 August 1892, Alsace and Moselle add Good Friday, in communes with a Protestant church or a church shared by both confessions, and 26 December. The overseas departments, Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin each keep the abolition of slavery as a holiday on a date of their own, from 27 April in Mayotte to 20 December in Réunion.

Four of the eleven days are church feasts that have been holidays since 1802, when the Concordat cut the religious days off to Christmas, All Saints, the Assumption and the Ascension.

Days off in 2026
11Nationwide public holidays
On a weekday
9Monday to Friday
On a weekend
2Saturday or Sunday
Long weekends
5and 3 with one day of leave

2026

Public holidays in France in 2026

  1. 1 January: New Year's DayJour de l'anA holiday since 1810, when an opinion of the Council of State approved by Napoleon I added it.Thursday
  2. 6 April: Easter MondayLundi de PâquesMade a holiday, together with Whit Monday, by a law of 8 March 1886. It falls on a Monday between 23 March and 26 April.MondayDate moves
  3. 1 May: Labour DayFête du TravailThe only day on which the law stops work, with pay, under the law of 30 April 1947. Where work cannot stop, as in hospitals or public transport, the employee is paid double.Friday
  4. 8 May: Victory in Europe DayVictoire 1945The unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945. A holiday from 1953, dropped in 1959 and restored by law in 1981.Friday
  5. 14 May: Ascension DayAscensionThe Thursday 39 days after Easter Sunday, so it always falls on a weekday and the Friday after it can serve as a bridge to the weekend.ThursdayDate moves
  6. 25 May: Whit MondayLundi de PentecôteIt lost its standing as a day of rest in 2004 to fund the solidarity day for older and disabled people, and became a day off again in 2008.MondayDate moves
  7. 14 July: Bastille DayFête nationaleThe Fête de la Fédération of 14 July 1790, held a year after the storming of the Bastille. The national day by a law of 6 July 1880.Tuesday
  8. 15 August: Assumption DayAssomptionThe Catholic feast of Mary taken up into heaven. Under the Second Empire the same day was also the Saint-Napoléon, the emperor's birthday.Saturday
  9. 1 November: All Saints' DayToussaintAll Saints, a Catholic feast honouring every saint.Sunday
  10. 11 November: Armistice DayArmistice 1918The armistice that ended the First World War, a holiday by a law of 24 October 1922, and a day of homage to all who died for France.Wednesday
  11. 25 December: Christmas DayNoëlChristmas Day. In Alsace and Moselle the next day, Saint-Étienne, is a holiday too.Friday

Long weekends

Long weekends in France in 2026

Runs of three days or more off, with weekends counted, and the working days that join a holiday to a weekend when taken as leave.

  • 4daysThu 1 Jan to Sun 4 JanWith Fri 2 Jan taken as leave · New Year's Day
  • 3daysSat 4 Apr to Mon 6 AprEaster Monday
  • 3daysFri 1 May to Sun 3 MayLabour Day
  • 3daysFri 8 May to Sun 10 MayVictory in Europe Day
  • 4daysThu 14 May to Sun 17 MayWith Fri 15 May taken as leave · Ascension Day
  • 3daysSat 23 May to Mon 25 MayWhit Monday
  • 4daysSat 11 Jul to Tue 14 JulWith Mon 13 Jul taken as leave · Bastille Day
  • 3daysFri 25 Dec to Sun 27 DecChristmas Day

2027

Public holidays in France in 2027

  1. 1 January: New Year's DayJour de l'anFriday
  2. 29 March: Easter MondayLundi de PâquesMondayDate moves
  3. 1 May: Labour DayFête du TravailSaturday
  4. 6 May: Ascension DayAscensionThursdayDate moves
  5. 8 May: Victory in Europe DayVictoire 1945Saturday
  6. 17 May: Whit MondayLundi de PentecôteMondayDate moves
  7. 14 July: Bastille DayFête nationaleWednesday
  8. 15 August: Assumption DayAssomptionSunday
  9. 1 November: All Saints' DayToussaintMonday
  10. 11 November: Armistice DayArmistice 1918Thursday
  11. 25 December: Christmas DayNoëlSaturday

Regional

Holidays kept in parts of France

Public holidays in 2026 that are days off only in the regions listed, by their ISO 3166-2 codes.

  1. 3 April: Good FridayVendredi saintFR-57 · FR-67 · FR-68Kept in Moselle, Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin only, in communes with a Protestant church or a church shared by both confessions.FridayDate moves
  2. 27 April: Abolition of SlaveryAbolition de l'esclavageFR-976Kept overseas, each place on its own anniversary: 27 April in Mayotte, 22 May in Martinique, 27 May in Guadeloupe, 10 June in French Guiana, 9 October in Saint Barthélemy and 20 December in Réunion.Monday
  3. 22 May: Abolition of SlaveryAbolition de l'esclavageFR-972Kept overseas, each place on its own anniversary: 27 April in Mayotte, 22 May in Martinique, 27 May in Guadeloupe, 10 June in French Guiana, 9 October in Saint Barthélemy and 20 December in Réunion.Friday
  4. 27 May: Abolition of SlaveryAbolition de l'esclavageFR-971Kept overseas, each place on its own anniversary: 27 April in Mayotte, 22 May in Martinique, 27 May in Guadeloupe, 10 June in French Guiana, 9 October in Saint Barthélemy and 20 December in Réunion.Wednesday
  5. 10 June: Abolition of SlaveryAbolition de l'esclavageFR-973Kept overseas, each place on its own anniversary: 27 April in Mayotte, 22 May in Martinique, 27 May in Guadeloupe, 10 June in French Guiana, 9 October in Saint Barthélemy and 20 December in Réunion.Wednesday
  6. 9 October: Abolition of SlaveryAbolition de l'esclavageFR-BLKept overseas, each place on its own anniversary: 27 April in Mayotte, 22 May in Martinique, 27 May in Guadeloupe, 10 June in French Guiana, 9 October in Saint Barthélemy and 20 December in Réunion.Friday
  7. 20 December: Abolition of SlaveryAbolition de l'esclavageFR-974Kept overseas, each place on its own anniversary: 27 April in Mayotte, 22 May in Martinique, 27 May in Guadeloupe, 10 June in French Guiana, 9 October in Saint Barthélemy and 20 December in Réunion.Sunday
  8. 26 December: St. Stephen's DaySaint-ÉtienneFR-57 · FR-67 · FR-68The second day of Christmas, a holiday in Moselle, Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin only. A Saturday in 2026 and a Sunday in 2027.Saturday

Every employee also owes a solidarity day: up to seven hours of work a year without pay, used to fund care for older and disabled people. It may be set on any holiday except 1 May, and the government gives Whit Monday as the example. In Alsace and Moselle it cannot fall on Good Friday, 25 December or 26 December.

On 15 July 2025 the prime minister proposed ending Easter Monday and 8 May as holidays, citing economic activity. The official list checked on 1 January 2026 still carries both, in 2026 and in 2027.

Several overseas territories keep days of their own beyond the abolition of slavery: the Thursday of Mi-Carême in Guadeloupe, Citizenship Day on 24 September in New Caledonia, the Arrival of the Gospel on 5 March in French Polynesia, and Saint Peter Chanel on 28 April and the Festival of the Territory on 29 July in Wallis and Futuna.

Common questions

Questions about public holidays in France

How many public holidays does France have?

Eleven in the law, the same in 2026 and 2027, and thirteen in Alsace and Moselle. Because no day is moved off a weekend, the number falling on a working day changes each year: 9 in 2026 and 7 in 2027. Over the years it averages 8.7 and ranges from seven to ten.

Is a public holiday a day off in France?

By law only 1 May is. For the other ten, a collective agreement or the employer decides whether work stops. Where it does, an employee with at least three months' service loses no pay. A holiday on a Saturday or Sunday gives no extra day off, unless an agreement says otherwise, and employees under 18 may not work on public holidays outside a list of trades such as bakeries and restaurants.

What is a pont in France?

A bridge: a working day between a holiday and the weekend that an employer or an agreement grants as a day off. No law regulates it, and the hours lost can be made up within twelve months either side. In 2026 the candidates are Friday 2 January, Friday 15 May after Ascension and Monday 13 July before the national day; in 2027, Friday 7 May and Friday 12 November.

What are the long weekends in France in 2026?

Five come without leave: Easter from Saturday 4 to Monday 6 April, 1 May and 8 May, both Fridays, Whit Monday on 25 May and Christmas Day on a Friday. Three bridge days make four-day breaks around New Year's Day, Ascension and 14 July. 15 August and 1 November fall on the weekend and bring no day off.

Is Whit Monday a day off in France?

Often, not always. It lost its status as a day of rest in 2004, when it was used to fund the solidarity day, and became a day off again in 2008. Employers may still set the unpaid solidarity day on it, and staff often see it taken from their stock of reduced-hours days instead. In 2026 it falls on 25 May, in 2027 on 17 May.

Which extra holidays do Alsace and Moselle have?

Two, from local law dating to an ordinance of 16 August 1892: Good Friday, in communes with a Protestant church or a shared one, and 26 December, Saint-Étienne. Good Friday falls on 3 April 2026 and 26 March 2027. The second day of Christmas is a Saturday in 2026 and a Sunday in 2027, so it adds no working day off in either year.

Is 8 May a public holiday in France?

Yes. Victoire 1945 marks the German surrender, and has been a holiday since a 1981 law restored it; it was first made one in 1953 and removed in 1959. A July 2025 proposal to drop it has not changed the calendar. In 2026 it is a Friday, giving a three-day weekend; in 2027 it is a Saturday.

When is the abolition of slavery a holiday in France?

Only overseas, each place on its own anniversary: 27 April in Mayotte, 22 May in Martinique, 27 May in Guadeloupe, 10 June in French Guiana, 9 October in Saint Barthélemy and 20 December in Réunion. In metropolitan France 10 May is a national day of remembrance for the slave trade and its abolition, and it is a working day.

Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-09-26. The page counts from Monday, 28 September 2026, the day it was built.