List of French Public Holidays Explained
Updated: May 2026
France recognises 11 national public holidays. Some are civil commemorations, some are Catholic feasts that survived the separation of Church and State, and three move every year with the date of Easter. Here is what each jour férié celebrates.
See the exact dates for any year, with bridge days and export.
Open the holiday calendar →The civil holidays
- New Year's Day (Jour de l'An, 1 January) — the start of the Gregorian year, a public holiday since the 19th century.
- Labour Day (Fête du Travail, 1 May) — international workers' day, and the only French holiday that is a compulsory paid day off for all employees.
- Victory in Europe Day (Victoire 1945, 8 May) — marks the end of the Second World War in Europe in 1945.
- Bastille Day (Fête Nationale, 14 July) — France's national day, commemorating the storming of the Bastille in 1789 and the Fête de la Fédération of 1790.
- Armistice Day (Armistice 1918, 11 November) — the end of the First World War.
The fixed religious holidays
- Assumption Day (Assomption, 15 August) — the Catholic feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
- All Saints' Day (Toussaint, 1 November) — honours all the saints; families traditionally visit cemeteries.
- Christmas Day (Noël, 25 December) — the birth of Christ, by far the most widely observed.
These dates are fixed on the calendar and do not move from year to year.
The moveable Easter holidays
Three holidays are calculated from Easter Sunday, whose date shifts each year between late March and late April:
- Easter Monday (Lundi de Pâques) — the day after Easter Sunday.
- Ascension Day (Ascension) — 39 days after Easter, always a Thursday.
- Whit Monday (Lundi de Pentecôte) — 50 days after Easter, always a Monday.
Because they depend on a moveable feast, these three are the reason a holiday calendar has to be recalculated every year rather than looked up from a static table.
Religious or secular?
France is a secular republic, yet six of its eleven holidays have Christian origins (Easter Monday, Ascension, Whit Monday, Assumption, All Saints' and Christmas). They were kept as public holidays for historical and cultural continuity rather than religious endorsement. The Alsace-Moselle region, which had a different legal status when the law on secularism was passed, keeps two additional Christian holidays.
Frequently asked questions
How many public holidays does France have?
Eleven at national level. Alsace-Moselle observes 13, and overseas territories add a local Abolition of Slavery commemoration.
Which French holidays are religious?
Six: Easter Monday, Ascension, Whit Monday, Assumption, All Saints' Day and Christmas. The other five are civil.
Why do three holidays change date every year?
Easter is a moveable feast tied to the lunar calendar, and Easter Monday, Ascension and Whit Monday are all counted from it.