
Public holidays in France
From Easter to Whitsun to Christmas, most of the holidays are Christian. Despite the dominating Catholic Church, Corpus Christi is not a public holiday. The national holiday is celebrated on July 14. Good Friday and Boxing Day are special: both are public holidays only in Alsace and Lorraine. However, they are known throughout the country.
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Non-floating holidays
Non-statutory holidays are written in gray.Date | Holiday | Local name |
---|---|---|
Jan. 1st | New Year | Jour de l'An |
May 1st | Labor Day | Fête du travail |
May 8th | Victory Day 1945 | Fête de la Victoire |
July 14th | French National Day | Fête Nationale de la France |
Aug. 15th | Assumption Day | Assomption |
Nov. 1st | All Saints' Day | Toussaint |
Nov. 11th | Ceasefire of Compiègne | Armistice 1918 |
Dec. 6th | Saint Nicholas | Saint-Nicolas |
Dec. 25th | 1st Christmas Holiday | Noël |
Dec. 26th | 2nd Christmas holiday (only Alsace + Lorraine) | Lendemain de Noël |
Moving Holidays in France
Holiday | Local name | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Good Friday (only Alsace + Lorraine) | Vendredi Saint | April 7th | March 29th | April 18th | April 3rd | March 26th |
Easter Sunday | Jour de Pâques | April 9th | March 31st | April 20th | April 5th | March 28th |
Easter Monday | Lundi de Pâques | April 10th | April 1st | April 21st | April 6th | March 29th |
Ascension of Christ | Ascension | May 18th | May 9th | May 29th | May 14th | May 6th |
Whit Sunday | Pentecôte | May 28th | May 19th | June 8th | May 24th | May 16th |
Mother's Day | Fête des Mères | May 28th | May 26th | May 25th | May 31st | May 30th |
Whit Monday | Lundi de Pentecôte | May 29th | May 20th | June 9th | May 25th | May 17th |
Corpus Christi | Fête-Dieu | June 8th | May 30th | June 19th | June 4th | May 27th |
Father's Day | Fête des Pères | June 18th | June 16th | June 15th | June 21st | June 20th |
Day of Victory

The fact that some countries celebrate this day on May 8th, while others celebrate on May 9th is quite justified: The surrender was signed on the night of May 9th, shortly after midnight German time. At that time, summer time was in force in Germany, but not in all neighbouring countries, which is why some of them were still one hour behind and had a different date.