Holidays listed for three years

SCHOOL calendars for the next three years have been published, allowing parents to plan holidays early.

Breaking with tradition the calendar, published in Le Journal Officiel, shows August is no longer sacrosanct.

This year, teachers return to work on August 29 and the pupils on September 1, while in 2015, the dates will be August 28 and 31.

The decision to return to school early came despite opposition from teachers.

The dates also address some of the concerns of France’s tourism sector, which had expressed concern about the Easter (Pâques) holidays moving into May.

The full list of dates can be found here Holidays

The publication of school dates comes as the list of public holidays for 2014 is announced:

Easter Monday : Monday, April 21
Labour Day : Thursday, May 1
Anniversary of the end of the Second World War: Thursday, May 8
Ascension Thursday, May 29
Whit Monday: Monday, June 9
National holiday: Monday, July 14
Assumption: Friday, August 15
Toussaint : Saturday, November 1
Anniversary of the Armistice of 1918: Tuesday, November 11
Christmas: Thursday, December 25

In principle, only the May Day holiday is compulsory for employees not involved in essential work, such as hospital workers, while further holidays can be added at a regional or local level.

Employers can also agree for staff who have children to cut their working hours during school holidays.

Unlike the UK, where, if a bank holiday with a set date falls at the weekend another day off (usually a Monday) is automatically given in lieu, in France bank holidays falling at a weekend are usually not compensated for (though in some cases employers may have rules in place allowing for a day in lieu).

Photo:Mike Baird