France’s summer holiday habits: more aoûtiens than juilletistes

France is abuzz with talk of holidays. Couples, families, and solo travelers gear up for their summer getaways, as figures show that people in France prefer going away during the month of August. 

French property site Particulier à Particulier (PAP) revealed the results of their 2025 summer survey* on June 26, highlighting the holiday peak is particularly noticeable during the first two weeks in August, often perceived as “the heart of summer” due to warm weather and the typical closure of certain industries or businesses.

This is a trend that has remained consistent for several years, with the platform stating that August accounts for 62% of holiday bookings, compared to 38% for July. 

For this reason, you may have noticed an increase in the use of the words ‘juilletiste’ and ‘aoûtien’ in the French media or in conversation, as the two terms refer directly to this curious feature of France’s summer season.

The words have come to be used by French people to denote those who take their breaks in July or August and are extensions of the words ‘juillet’ and ‘août’.

They quite literally mean 'Julyists' and 'Augustiens'.

‘Aoûtien’ entered the Larousse dictionary in 1973, and is defined as “someone who takes their summer break in August”.

The term first appeared in 1969, initially referring to “someone who stayed in Paris or a big city in August”. ‘Juilletiste’ was then added in 1990.

Juilletistes is pronounced by adding  the -tiste sound to the original French word juillet.

Aoûtien should be said in three parts: a - ou - tien (the -t pronounced like the -s in sea).

Read more: Driving in summer in France: rules and tips to rememberRead more: France summer holiday traffic: worst days to travel in July and August 2025

Who are juilletistes and who are aoûtiens?

Various studies have been published to study the sociology of juilletistes and aoûtiens.

Aoûtiens are historically miners and factory workers, because August normally coincided with the temporary closure of factories.

Read more: French communes offer help for low-income residents to go on holiday

Juilletistes, meanwhile, were mostly white-collar workers enjoying more flexibility in their holiday schedule.

This historic division has largely dissolved as a result of the desindustrialisation process, the surge of the service sector and the 35-hour week load. 

Many French people now include all sorts of personal, familial, geographic and work factors in their decision on when to take holiday.

Some choose July because they felt coming back from holidays after August was more difficult mentally, while aoûtiens often chose that month for its hotter weather.

However, there is often a friendly rivalry - or tinge of jealousy - between the two groups, as one is working while the other lounges about on the beach.

Where are people in France going on holiday this year?

The PAP survey also reveals that Spain is leading the way with bookings this year, showing a 14.1% increase compared to 2024, ahead of France's Côte d’Azur.

Tighter holiday budgets could explain this shift, as "Spanish houses are on average 30% cheaper than those on the Côte d'Azur," states the survey's press release. 

Read also: 10 travel ideas: See the world without leaving France

The top five destinations in 2025 and their percentage increases compared to 2024 are:

• Espagne + 14,1%

• Côte d'Azur (06, 83, 13) + 1%

• Languedoc (30, 34, 11, 66) + 14,1%

• Vendée - Charente (85, 17) + 9,6%

• Atlantique Sud (64, 40, 33) + 14,3%

*The PAP study was based on 225,135 booking requests made via the PAP Vacances website between 1 January and 26 June 2025 for the period of 5 July to 1 September 2025, compared with bookings recorded for the same period in 2024.