How to maximise your time off in France this year

Have you ever wondered why so many people are en vacances so much of the time?

School terms seem short, public holidays come along frequently, and the whole of France heads for the coast on exactly the same days. Shops and restaurants surprise you with signs saying: “Closed for holidays – back end of the month.”

So, does France really enjoy more leave than other nations, or are people just good at making the most of it? 

The answer is a little bit of both.

Read also:  Maximise your holidays: France's 2025 public holiday calendar

School holidays

I am often surprised to see children out and about in the week – should they not be at school? 

But I should remember there are no lessons on Wednesdays in many primaries, nor on Wednesday afternoons in some lycées and collèges.

Compared to the UK, French schools also enjoy a longer summer closure, from July to early September. Half-terms are two weeks, rather than one. Three zones in France stagger the half-term breaks effectively, but this also extends the holiday period as a whole. 

If you travel through different zones next half-term, you could encounter pupils off school from February 8 to March 10. 

I have difficulty travelling in this whole period. Train and plane prices skyrocket and what should be a quiet winter has become a peak season.

Public holidays and annual leave

With 12 public holidays in France – 14 in Alsace and Moselle – compared to eight in the UK, there are also more months that include days off.

Some dates might come as a surprise to new arrivals.

Ascension and Assumption are religious feast days. The French national day on July 14 is well known, but the two war commemoration days (Victory Day, May 8, and Armistice Day, November 11) are also public holidays, unlike in the UK.

Read also: What happens in France on November 11 bank holiday and are shops open?

Paid annual leave, at 30 days, is generous, even by European standards, but this includes five Saturdays, so that leaves five ‘working’ weeks. People expect to take all of their holiday, whereas UK workers often cannot find time.

How to faire le pont

But here’s the nub. French employees have become adept at maximising time off by ‘making a bridge’ – faire le pont – between leave days and public holidays, creating long weekends, or even up to nine consecutive days off work: 2025 is a good year for this.

It is possible because, in France, bank holidays are taken on the day they fall, often on a Tuesday or Thursday, as opposed to being moved to a Monday, as in the UK. This means that with only one day of paid leave, workers can have four consecutive days off.

Online calculators show you how to enjoy up to 57 days off work in 2025 by strategically placing 25 days’ holiday.

Read also: Does working on a bank holiday in France impact pay?

How people spend their holidays

Although statistics vary, it is fair to say that most still prefer to stay in France. There are landscapes and towns to suit everyone, the climate is good, the food is excellent and familiar, and there is no need to speak another language.

Nathalie Carreau, a nursery assistant from Avignon, said: “French people often feel proud of their country. We have so much on offer here. People think, why do you need to go abroad for a holiday?”

There is one big downside to this: everyone leaves together, clogging the motorways and filling resorts to capacity. 

Although some take their main holiday in July (so-called juilletistes) and others in August (aoûtiens), there are still getaway weekends when the country seems to be on the move simultaneously.

Read also: Does France still shut down for the month of August?

“It’s only a few times a year,” said Patrice Charpentier, 58, a security officer. He also pointed out that there are some changes happening on the roads, with increasing numbers heading to Normandy and Brittany for cheaper holidays in a cooler summer climate.

The droit de déconnexion

French employees guard their holidays keenly and employers cannot contact staff. This is the droit de déconnexion, designed to stop burn-out, and could be why economic productivity continues despite the long pauses: people return to the office recharged and working better.

So much for the idea that France does not work. It just works to its own rhythm.

This ‘rhythm’ sees shops shut unexpectedly, tradespeople disappearing, businesses and government agencies working more slowly. Never expect a quick reply to an email in August, or May with its three holidays.

Does anybody mind? Is this an acceptable trade-off for the right to enjoy life outside work? Both Nathalie and Patrice consider it normal, rather than exasperating.

Do people work to live, to relax, to enjoy food with family and friends? Yes, they do. It is a question of balance, and taken very seriously. 

In future, I will try to stop being surprised and just go with the flow. It doesn’t sound like a bad idea, after all.