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The
French enjoy 11 national jours feriés (holidays)
annually. The civic calendar was first instituted in
1582; Bastille Day was incorporated in 1789, Armistice
Day in 1918, Labor Day in 1935, and Victory Day in 1945.
During the month of May, there is a holiday nearly every
week, so be prepared for stores, banks and museums to
shut their doors for days at a time. It is a good idea
to call museums, restaurants and hotels in advance to
make sure they will be open.
Trains
and roads near major cities tend to get busy around the
national holidays. Not coincidentally, this also happens
to be the time when service unions (such as
transporters, railroad workers, etc.) like to go on
strike — something of a tradition, in fact. Travelers
would do well to check ahead, particularly when planning
a trip for the last week of June or first week of July!
There
are also many regional festivals throughout France which
are not included in our calendar. ViaFrance hosts an
excellent site which lists fairs and festivals,
traditional ceremonies, as well as sporting events,
concerts, and trade shows for all regions throughout
France. Use the interactive search form below to choose
a region and range of dates for a listing of special
events, to help plan your itinerary.
Under
the law, every French citizen is entitled to 5 weeks of
vacation. Most of the natives take their summer
vacations in July or August, and many major businesses
are then closed. All of France takes to the roads,
railroads, boats, and airways. Consequently, traveling
in France during August is generally not recommended for
foreigners.
Public Holidays
| 1 January |
New Year's Day (Jour de l'an) |
| 1 May |
Labor Day (Fête du premier mai) |
| 8 May |
WWII Victory Day (Fête de la
Victoire 1945; Fête du huitième mai) |
| 14 July |
Bastille Day (Fête nationale) |
| 15 August |
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
Mary (Assomption) |
| 1 November |
All Saints Day (La Toussaint) |
| 11 November |
Armistice Day (Jour d'armistice) |
| 25 December |
Christmas Day (Noël) |
| 26 December |
2nd Day of Christmas (in Alsace and
Lorraine only) |
Moveable Feasts
Religion: Christian (Western)
| Feast |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
| Good Friday* |
9 April |
25 March |
14 April |
6 April |
21 March |
10 April |
| Easter (Pâques) |
11 April |
27 March |
16 April |
8 April |
23 March |
12 April |
| Easter Monday |
12 April |
28 March |
17 April |
9 April |
24 March |
13 April |
| Ascension (l'Ascencion) |
20 May |
5 May |
25 May |
17 May |
1 May |
21 May |
| Pentecost (la Pentecôte) |
30 May |
15 May |
4 June |
27 May |
11 May |
31 May |
| Whit Monday |
31 May |
16 May |
5 June |
28 May |
12 May |
1 June |
*In Alsace and Lorraine only.
In years when Ascension Day concurs
with Victory Day, we mark only the former, thus ignoring
the latter.
Metal workers have the holiday of
St. Eloi, July 24 (Festival of St. Eloi - French
Basque).
Note that when a holiday happens to
fall on a Tuesday or Thursday, many French workers may
take the Monday or, respectively, Friday, off as well.
This is not official and does not apply to institutions
such as banks or government, but is sufficiently
commonplace to cause difficulties doing business on
occasion.
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