Christmas, Easter: See the dates for France’s school holidays 2022-23

School pupils in France are about to return to the classroom for another year on September 1 – or September 2 in Corsica.

We take a look at the dates for this year’s school holidays, in case you want to plan breaks or journeys in or around them.

In France, school holiday dates depend on the zone in which you live. These zones are as follows:

• Zone A: Besançon, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon and Poitiers

• Zone B: Aix-Marseille, Amiens, Caen, Lille, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Nice, Orléans-Tours, Reims, Rennes, Rouen and Strasbourg

• Zone C: Créteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse and Versaille

Toussaint

The first school holidays of the year are for Toussaint, and in all of the above zones they will begin on Saturday, October 22 and end on Monday, November 7.

Christmas

The Christmas holidays will also cover the same dates across France: Saturday, December 17 until Tuesday, January 3.

Winter holidays

It is when the winter holidays arrive that the dates vary depending on the area of France.

In Zone A, this break will begin on Saturday, February 4 and end on Monday, February 20.

In Zone B, it will start on Saturday, February 11 and end on Monday, February 27.

In Zone C, the holidays will last from Saturday, February 18 until Monday, March 6, the same dates as in Corsica.

Spring holidays

France’s spring holidays correspond loosely with the Easter period, and vary depending on the zone.

Zone A will see the break start on Saturday, April 8 and end on Monday, April 24, while in Zone B and Corsica the holidays will begin on Saturday, April 15 and end on Tuesday, May 2.

For Zone C, it will be Saturday, April 22 until Tuesday, May 9.

Summer holidays

The 2023 summer holidays will begin on Saturday, July 8 for all French school pupils. The return date has not yet been determined.

You can find out more on this government calendar.

The dates for the 2023-24 school holidays have not yet been fixed.

A return to school on the lowest Covid alert level

France’s education ministry has announced that from the rentrée (the return to school and work after the summer), the Covid alert level in French schools will be at its lowest level.

This is called ‘socle’ (base) and means that all students will attend classes in person, and that hygiene measures such as hand-washing should be observed only to the same extent as is generally recommended by the health ministry.

There will be no restrictions on sporting activities in schools.

Masks will be available for teachers wishing to wear one – with 61.5 million being sent to schools – and self-tests made available by pharmacies. These measures will be in place at least until Toussaint.

The ‘socle’ alert level has been deemed appropriate as there is currently no variant of concern emerging, and the number of hospitalised patients has been dropping steadily for the past month.

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