Skip to content

France working days and public holidays 2026

France, 2026: 252 working days and 2016 working hours at 8 hours a day. There are 11 national public holidays, 9 of them on working days.

France 2026 at a glance

Invalid date range.

Failed to load holiday data.

Working days
252
Standard hours
2016
Free days
113
Calendar days
365
Holidays in period
11
Free days from holidays
9
Holidays on weekends
2

Today, Saturday 31 October, is not a working day. 210 working days of 2026 have passed and 42 are left.

Public holidays 2026

January

  • 1 Jan Thursday New Year's Day (Jour de l'an)

April

  • 6 Apr Monday Easter Monday (Lundi de Pâques)

May

  • 1 May Friday Labour Day (Fête du Travail)
  • 8 May Friday Victory in Europe Day (Victoire 1945)
  • 14 May Thursday Ascension Day (Ascension)
  • 25 May Monday Whit Monday (Lundi de Pentecôte)

July

  • 14 Jul Tuesday Bastille Day (Fête nationale)

August

  • 15 Aug Saturday Assumption Day (Assomption) Weekend

November

  • 1 Nov Sunday All Saints' Day (Toussaint) Next Weekend
  • 11 Nov Wednesday Armistice Day (Armistice 1918)

December

  • 25 Dec Friday Christmas Day (Noël)

Working days and hours by month 2026

Month Working days Hours
January 1 Jan New Year's Day (Jour de l'an) 21 168
February 20 160
March 22 176
April 6 Apr Easter Monday (Lundi de Pâques) 21 168
May 1 May Labour Day (Fête du Travail), 8 May Victory in Europe Day (Victoire 1945), 14 May Ascension Day (Ascension), 25 May Whit Monday (Lundi de Pentecôte) 17 136
June 22 176
July 14 Jul Bastille Day (Fête nationale) 22 176
August 15 Aug Assumption Day (Assomption) 21 168
September 22 176
October 22 176
November 1 Nov All Saints' Day (Toussaint), 11 Nov Armistice Day (Armistice 1918) 20 160
December 25 Dec Christmas Day (Noël) 22 176
Total 252 2016

How it works?

This calculator counts working days, public holidays, and shortened workdays for a selected country and period. A working day is any day outside the weekend (Saturday and Sunday; in Egypt Friday and Saturday) that is not a public holiday. Shortened workdays: in Estonia the working day immediately before New Year's Day, Independence Day, Victory Day and Christmas Eve is 3 hours shorter. In Latvia and Lithuania the working day immediately before every public holiday is 1 hour shorter (Latvian Labour Law § 135, Lithuanian Labour Code art. 112).

Holiday data comes from the Nager.Date public holiday database, updated annually.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as a working day?

A working day is any day that is neither a weekend day nor a public holiday. In Estonia and most countries the weekend is Saturday and Sunday; in Egypt it is Friday and Saturday.

Link to this answer

What is a shortened workday?

Under § 53 of the Estonian Employment Contracts Act, the working day before New Year's Day, Independence Day (24 February), Victory Day (23 June) and Christmas Eve (24 December) is shortened by three hours. The day shortened is the one immediately before the holiday: if that day is a day off (for example a Sunday), no working day is shortened - the Friday before stays a full day. In Estonia the day before other public holidays is not shortened. In Latvia (Labour Law § 135) and Lithuania (Labour Code art. 112) the working day right before every public holiday is one hour shorter for full-time staff.

Link to this answer

Why don’t some public holidays reduce the working day count?

If a public holiday falls on a weekend (Saturday or Sunday), it does not reduce the working day count, since those days would not be working days regardless.

Link to this answer

How are annual working hours calculated?

Multiply the working days by 8 hours and subtract the shortening for each shortened day - 3 hours in Estonia, 1 hour in Latvia and Lithuania: working days × 8 − shortened days × 3 (or × 1). Monthly norm hours work the same way from that month's working days. For part-time staff, use the agreed daily hours instead of 8.

Link to this answer

Working days and public holidays in other countries