Holidays in France 2026

France observes 11 national jours fériés in 2026. 9 fall on a weekday and 2 land on a weekend (Assomption on Saturday 15 August and Toussaint on Sunday 1 November). The result is 252jours ouvrés across the year on the national-only count, with the May concentration of Fête du Travail, Fête de la Victoire, Ascension, and Lundi de Pentecôte producing the year's most pont-friendly stretch.

2026 jours fériés calendar

Date	Day	Holiday	Notes
Jan 1	Thursday	Jour de l'An	Jour de l'An on a Thursday creates a candidate pont du vendredi for many Parisian offices.
Apr 6	Monday	Lundi de Pâques	Lundi de Pâques follows the Easter weekend, with Bercy and most banks closed Friday afternoon through Monday.
May 1	Friday	Fête du Travail	Fête du Travail on a Friday opens a three-day weekend.
May 8	Friday	Fête de la Victoire 1945	Fête de la Victoire 1945 on a Friday produces a second three-day weekend within the same week as Ascension and Lundi de Pentecôte.
May 14	Thursday	Ascension	Ascension on a Thursday is the strongest pont du vendredi candidate of the year.
May 25	Monday	Lundi de Pentecôte	Lundi de Pentecôte closes a four-day Pentecost weekend that opens with Pentecôte on 24 May.
Jul 14	Tuesday	Fête Nationale	Fête Nationale on a Tuesday produces a pont du lundi opportunity, with many companies granting 13 July as leave.
Aug 15	Saturday (weekend)	Assomption	Assomption lands on a Saturday and is absorbed into the August holiday season with no in-lieu compensation.
Nov 1	Sunday (weekend)	Toussaint	Toussaint lands on a Sunday and is absorbed into the weekend; some employers move La Toussaint observance under a convention collective.
Nov 11	Wednesday	Armistice 1918	Armistice 1918 on a Wednesday breaks the working week without an obvious pont opportunity.
Dec 25	Friday	Noël	Noël on a Friday closes the year with a long Christmas-to-New Year weekend.

2026 year summary

Total days

365

Weekend days

104

Jours fériés on weekdays

Jours ouvrés

252

The May 2026 cluster (Fête du Travail, Fête de la Victoire, Ascension, and Lundi de Pentecôte) removes four working days from a single month, plus an Easter weekend on the calendar boundary. Treasury teams running URSSAF and Banque de France-aligned settlement should expect compressed delivery windows in May and a slow Q3 around 14 August.

Regional holidays not included

Alsace-Moselle observes two additional jours fériés under the Concordat-era code local: Vendredi Saint (3 April 2026) and the Saint-Étienne (26 December 2026, a Saturday). These do not appear in the calculator's national set but can be added under Advanced options for contracts with a Strasbourg, Metz, or Mulhouse seat. Overseas territories (DROM-COM) observe local commemoration days that are not in the national list either.

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Holidays in France 2026 - FAQ

How many national jours fériés does France have in 2026?

France observes 11 national jours fériés in 2026 under Article L3133-1 of the Code du travail. 9 fall on a weekday and 2 land on a weekend (Assomption on Saturday 15 August and Toussaint on Sunday 1 November). Alsace-Moselle's Vendredi Saint and 26 December are not in this list because they are regional rather than national.

How many jours ouvrés does France have in 2026?

France has 252 jours ouvrés in 2026 on the national-only count, after subtracting 104 weekend days and 9 weekday-falling jours fériés. Companies covered by a convention collective that grants substitute days for weekend-falling jours fériés will see one or two additional days off.

Which ponts du jour are most attractive in 2026?

Friday 15 May (after Ascension on Thursday 14 May) is the classic pont du vendredi and produces a four-day weekend. Friday 14 August (before Assomption on Saturday 15 August) is the second strongest, since many Parisian offices are already half-empty on the day before assumption. Monday 13 July (before Fête Nationale on Tuesday 14 July) is a popular pont du lundi. Lundi de Pâques on 6 April and Lundi de Pentecôte on 25 May already produce three- and four-day weekends without taking extra leave.