Holidays in France 2026
Last reviewed: October 14, 2026 · Holiday data: July 20, 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 252 jours ouvrés across the year on the national-only count, and four of the weekday holidays fall in May: Fête du Travail, Fête de la Victoire, Ascension and Lundi de Pentecôte.
2026 jours fériés calendar
| Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 | Thursday | Jour de l'An |
| Apr 6 | Monday | Lundi de Pâques |
| May 1 | Friday | Fête du Travail |
| May 8 | Friday | Fête de la Victoire 1945 |
| May 14 | Thursday | Ascension |
| May 25 | Monday | Lundi de Pentecôte |
| Jul 14 | Tuesday | Fête Nationale |
| Aug 15 | Saturday (weekend) | Assomption |
| Nov 1 | Sunday (weekend) | Toussaint |
| Nov 11 | Wednesday | Armistice 1918 |
| Dec 25 | Friday | Noël |
2026 year summary
Total days
365
Weekend days
104
Jours fériés on weekdays
9
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, because all four fall on weekdays this year. A deadline counted in jours ouvrés across May therefore lands later than the same count across a month with no jours fériés.
Alsace-Moselle: two more fêtes légales
Alsace-Moselle has two fêtes légales the rest of France does not: Vendredi Saint, which applies only in communes that have a Protestant temple or a mixed church, and the second day of Christmas. In 2026 Vendredi Saint is Friday 3 April, so it takes a working day out of a count in the communes it covers, while the second day of Christmas is Saturday 26 December and costs nothing. Neither is in this calculator's national set; add Vendredi Saint under Advanced options when a deadline runs in one of those communes.
Overseas: the abolition-of-slavery days in 2026
The commemoration of the abolition of slavery is also a public holiday in the overseas departments (Drom), Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin, on a date that differs by territory. In 2026 it falls on Monday 27 April in Mayotte, Friday 22 May in Martinique, Wednesday 27 May in Guadeloupe and Saint-Martin, Wednesday 10 June in Guyane, Friday 9 October in Saint-Barthélemy and Sunday 20 December in La Réunion. Only La Réunion's lands on a weekend this year; for a count in any of the other territories, add its day under Advanced options. Some local or professional commemorations are holidays as well, among them Saint-Éloi, which certain collective agreements in metalworking recognise, Sainte-Barbe for employees in the mines, and Mi-carême in some overseas departments.
Ponts and the journée de solidarité in 2026
No statute creates a pont. Service-public.fr states that the practice is not regulated: a collective agreement or the employer may grant one, and the hours lost can be worked back within the 12 months before or after it, with no pay premium. The candidates in 2026 are Friday 2 January, Friday 15 May and Monday 13 July.
The journée de solidarité is a separate mechanism: one extra unpaid working day a year, which may be a jour férié that was not worked before, other than 1 May. Service-public.fr gives Lundi de Pentecôte as the example, which in 2026 is Monday 25 May. A firm that works that day has one more working day in May than this calculator counts. In Alsace-Moselle it may not be 25 or 26 December or Vendredi Saint.
Sources and verification
Official source: Service-Public.fr (service-public.gouv.fr) (opens in a new tab)
Cross-checked against this source on July 20, 2026.
Sources for these rules
- Jours fériés et ponts dans le secteur privé (Code du travail, articles L3133-1 à L3133-3): dates des fêtes légales en 2026 et 2027, cas général, Alsace-Moselle et outre-mer; commémoration de l'abolition de l'esclavage par territoire; seul le 1er mai obligatoirement chômé; aucun jour de congé supplémentaire pour un jour férié tombant un jour habituellement non travaillé; le pont, pratique non réglementée; la journée de solidarité (Direction de l'information légale et administrative (service-public.gouv.fr))
Checked October 9, 2026. All sources