PUBLIC HOLIDAY. Easter Monday, Ascension, Pentecost… When are the next public holidays in 2023, in April and May? View the 2023 public holiday calendar for France.
[Updated Mar 10, 2023 1:25 PM] How to take advantage of public holidays in France in 2023? The 2023 calendar of public holidays is very beneficial! 8 public holidays are planned during the week, out of the 11 that totals the calendar year, including 5 on Monday. With Ascension falling on a Thursday, this could allow workers to afford a long weekend around May 18, 2023, while July 14, National Day, falls on a Friday.
Check the list of public holidays for 2023 and 2024 to find out when to go and download our 2023 school holiday calendar with public holidays. We also give you the list of the best days to ask each month of the year 2023 to bridge and enjoy more holidays thanks to the holidays.
Consult the dates of the 11 public holidays 2023 in France, in order to better plan long weekends and possible bridges:
Several bridges are possible in the 2023 calendar of public holidays:
The month of April will be marked by a single public holiday, Easter Monday, which falls on April 10, 2023 and will allow you to benefit from an extended weekend of 3 days! The month of May will guarantee many public holidays (4 in total), from May 1st!
The month of May will be rich in public holidays: May 1, May 8, May 18, May 29! If Monday May 1 (Labour Day), Monday May 8 (Armistice 1945) and Monday May 29 (Pentecost Monday) will allow you to enjoy a 3-day long weekend, with Ascension Thursday falls on May 18, taking time off on May 19, 2023 will get you another 4 days off! Take advantage because there will be no public holidays in June.
The month of July 2023 will be marked by a single public holiday, July 14, National Day, which falls on a Friday. This will be the opportunity to enjoy a 3-day extended weekend!
August 2023 will be marked by a single holiday, August 15, Assumption Day, which falls on a Tuesday. If you are not on vacation, this will be the opportunity to pose on Monday August 14th to benefit from a 4-day weekend!
Here is the official calendar for the 2023 school year which contains, in addition to the traditional holiday periods by zone, the dates of public holidays in France:
Download the 2023 calendar with public holidays in PDF format
Consult the dates of the 11 public holidays in 2024 in France, in order to plan a holiday well in advance!
Public holidays commemorate a civil or religious holiday or a significant event, the list of which is defined by the Labor Code. In France, the year has 11 public holidays, compared to 10 in Belgium, 12 in Spain and 9 in Germany. In Europe, Cypriots have the most public holidays with 15 days per year. Conversely, in the United Kingdom, there are only 8. These dates have been determined according to the history and culture of the country. There are therefore two types of public holidays, civil and religious. There are 5 civil holidays: New Year’s Day, a public holiday since the 1st Empire in 1810, May 1 (Labor Day) declared a holiday in 1919, May 8 which commemorates the capitulation of Germany, July 14 which celebrates the storming of the Bastille and which has been unemployed since July 6, 1880, and November 11, Armistice Day of the First World War. And 6 religious holidays: Assumption, Ascension, All Saints, Christmas, Pentecost and Easter are the 6 religious holidays in France. The first four became public holidays from 1802 following the signing of the Concordat between Bonaparte and the papacy. Easter Monday and Pentecost Monday were added in 1886. Note: there are some local particularities: in Alsace-Moselle, Good Friday and December 26 are also public holidays and in the overseas departments, the abolition of slavery.
May 1st, Labor Day, is the only day in France that is mandatorily free and paid by companies (but there may be professions that make exceptions.) For other public holidays, the law provides that when day n is not working in a company, the employee must be paid from 3 months of seniority. If the public holiday is worked, the employer is not obliged to pay his employee more, on the other hand some collective agreements provide for an increase. It is therefore advisable to consult your collective agreement to find out your situation. With regard to bridges, there is no obligation for the employer to grant them. If the collective agreement does not specify this feature, the employer remains free to decide. In any case, he is not forced to pay his employee that day. On the other hand, the employer can impose a bridge on the employees.
A holiday is not necessarily a day off (not worked). The employer has the right to ask his employee to work on a public holiday, with the exception of May 1, Labor Day. Indeed, May 1st is the only compulsory public holiday for all employees of all companies in France. It is therefore obligatorily off and paid unlike other public holidays. But if May 1st falls on a usual rest day in the company (for example, a Sunday), it will not be paid and it does not entitle you to additional rest.
