PUBLIC HOLIDAY. While the next holiday of the year is the Assumption on August 15th, here are all the holiday dates for the rest of the year.
[Updated August 9, 2023 at 09:34] Although most French people are on vacation or have a vacation right now, for those who work, you are certainly wondering when the next public holiday is to enjoy a good night’s sleep. or simply to make the bridge. Know that the next date is fast approaching since it is August 15 with the Assumption. We will have to take advantage of it because the next public holiday is planned in a few months…
The Assumption is a Christian holiday that celebrates the ascent into heaven of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ. On its website, the Catholic Church in France explains that the Assumption is a feast born in the East. It is celebrated on August 15, in reference to the consecration of a church for the Virgin Mary which took place on this date, in the sixth century. In the West, the Assumption was established by Pope Sergius I (687-701). August 15 is a public holiday pursuant to the decree of April 19, 1802 resulting from the Concordat and according to article 42 of the law of December 9, 1905 on the separation of Church and State.
Check the list of public holidays for 2023-2024 to find out when to go and download our 2023-2024 school vacation calendar with public holidays. We also give you the list of the best days to ask the remaining months of the year 2023 to bridge and enjoy more holidays thanks to the holidays.
Consult the dates of the next public holidays 2023 in France, in order to better plan long weekends and possible bridges:
Two bridges are still possible in the 2023 public holiday calendar:
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 2023-2024 school year which contains, in addition to the traditional holiday periods by zone, the dates of public holidays in France:
Download the official school calendar 2023-2024 (PDF)
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 give rise to the right to additional rest.