Reminder: The dates of France's 2023 holidays and days off

The official holiday dates for Christmas, school holidays, and jours fériés have been confirmed. Check your school zone and days off here

A photo of a calendar placed on a wooden desk
You can start planning your holidays and days off in France next year as the 2023 dates have been confirmed
Hannah Thompson
Published Last updated

We list the official dates of school holidays and public holidays (jours fériés) for the year 2023 in France.

School holidays

Holiday dates in February and at Easter depend on the zone you are in.

  • Zone A: Besançon, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, Poitiers
  • Zone B: Aix-Marseille, Amiens, Caen, Lille, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Nice, Orléans-Tours, Reims, Rennes, Rouen, Strasbourg
  • Zone C: Créteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse, Versailles.

Winter holidays

  • Zone A: Saturday, February 4 to Monday, February 20, 2023
  • Zone B: Saturday, February 11 to Monday, February 27, 2023
  • Zone C: Saturday, February 18 to Monday, March 6, 2023.

Easter holidays

  • Zone A: Saturday, April 8 to Monday, April 24, 2023
  • Zone B: Saturday April 15 to Tuesday, May 2, 2023
  • Zone C: Saturday April 22 to Tuesday, May 9, 2023.

Summer holidays

  • Begin Saturday, July 8, 2023 until the rentrée in September.

Days off (jours fériés) for 2023

  • New Year's Day: Sunday, January 1, 2023
  • Easter Monday (Lundi de Pâques): Monday, April 10, 2023
  • Labour Day (Fête du travail): Monday, May 1, 2023
  • VE Day: Monday, May 8, 2023
  • Ascension Day: Thursday, May 18, 2023
  • Whit Monday (Lundi de Pentecôte): Monday, May 29, 2023
  • Fête Nationale: Friday, July 14, 2023
  • Assumption Day: Tuesday, August 15, 2023
  • All Saints' Day: Wednesday, November 1, 2023
  • Armistice of 1918: Saturday, November 11, 2023
  • Christmas: Monday, December 25, 2023

All Saints' Day (Toussaint) holiday

The dates for 2023 have not been confirmed. However, they are expected to be similar to the dates this year, which were from Saturday, October 22 to Monday, November 7, 2022.

Days to ‘faire le pont’ (make a four-day weekend)

‘Faire le pont (literally: ‘doing the bridge)’ in French is a colloquial phrase.

It means taking an extra day off between a holiday (jour férié) and a weekend, or adding the holiday to the weekend, to extend the time off. You effectively get a four-day weekend as a result.

You are therefore ‘bridging’ the weekend to the holiday date.

In 2023, opportunities to faire le pont are:

  • Ascension Day: Thursday, May 18, 2023 - 4-day bridge if you take Friday 19 off
  • Assumption Day: Tuesday, August 15, 2023 - 4-day bridge if you take Monday 14 off
  • All Saints' Day: Wednesday, November 1, 2023 - 5-day bridge if you take Monday October 30, and Tuesday 31 off

Public holidays resulting in a three day weekend include:

  • Easter Monday (Lundi de Pâques): Monday, April 10, 2023 - 3 days
  • Labour Day (Fête du travail): Monday, May 1, 2023 - 3 days
  • Victory Day of May 8, 1945: Monday, May 8, 2023 - 3 days
  • Whit Monday (Lundi de Pentecôte): Monday, May 29, 2023 - 3 days
  • Fête Nationale: Friday, July 14, 2023 - 3 days

Previous articles

Calendar: When do France’s public holidays fall in 2022?

Faire le pont: How to get a four-day weekend in France

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