Holidays in France
French public holidays are based on the major Catholic holidays, with the exception of Good Friday, which is only celebrated in the prefecture of Alsace. Although most of them are movable, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary always falls on 15 August, All Saints’ Day on 1 November and Christmas on 25 December. Other public holidays include New Year’s Day (1 January), 1 May, Victory Day (8 May), Bastille Day (14 July) and Armistice Day (11 November).
It is advisable to plan your trip, especially during the French school holidays, which usually run from late October to early November, at Christmas, Easter, between 1 May and Victory Day, and in summer. Unlike its big neighbour to the east, France has a single date for the whole country when holidays begin and end. Naturally, on and around this date, the streets fill up and train and air fares skyrocket. If you can avoid travelling during these times, do so.
| Date | English name | Local name | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January | New Year’s Day | New Year / New Year’s Day / New Year’s Eve / New Year’s Day | |
| mobile | Good Friday | Good Friday | Friday before Easter Sunday (observed only in Alsace and on the Moselle). |
| mobile | Easter Monday | Easter Monday | Monday after Easter Sunday (one day after Easter Sunday) |
| 1 May | 1 May/Labour Day | Labour Day / Workers’ Day | |
| 8 May | Victory Day in Europe | Victory Day | End of hostilities in Europe |
| mobile | Ascension Day | Ascension | Thursday, 39 days after Easter |
| mobile | Whit Monday | Whit Monday | Monday after Pentecost (50 days after Easter), observed only in some companies, see |
| 14 July | Bastille Day | National Day | French National Day, commemoration |
| 15 August | Mary’s Assumption into Heaven | Acceptance | |
| 1 November | All Saints’ Day | Toussaint | |
| 11 November | The day of the ceasefire | Armistice of 1918 | End of the First World War |
| 25 December | Christmas Day | Christmas | |
| Boxing Day | Saint Stephen’s Day | Saint-Étienne | Only observed in Alsace and on the Moselle |
