French public and school holidays 2022

French public and school holidays 2022

Happy New Year. 

 

January is with us once more and as in previous years, here is my annual post with all the French public holidays, school holidays and other notable dates, plus how they are celebrated here in France, for 2022. 

 

Nothing much seems to have changed from when I wrote a similar post last December, as we once again find ourselves living with strict Covid-19 controls in place, concerning who travel to France from the UK and the rules they must follow. 

 

I can only hope that travel and holidays in 2022 become easier for us all, but please do check with the relevant authorities before planning your 2022 holiday travel. The UK government update this information page on their website on a regular basis: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/france

 

Public Holidays in France 2022

1^st January, New Year’s Day, jour de l’an (a Saturday this year)

17^th April, Easter Sunday, Pâques

18^th April, Easter Monday, lundi de Pâques (note there is no Good Friday holiday in France unless you live in Alsace or Moselle areas)

1^st May, Fête du Travail (a Sunday this year)

8^th May, Victory in Europe Day, Victoire 1945 (a Sunday this year)

26^th May, Ascension Day, Ascension (note schools will have an extra day off on Friday 27^th May for the bridge (pont)) 

6^th June, Pentecost Monday, lundi de Pentecôte

14^th July, Fête Nationale 

15^th August, Assumption Day, Assomption 

1^st November, All Saints Day, Toussaint

11^th November, Armistice Day, Armistice 1918 

25^th December, Christmas Day, Jour de Noël (a Sunday this year) (note there is no Boxing Day holiday in France on 26^th unless you live in Alsace or Moselle areas)

 

Faire le pont

Except for the holidays linked to Easter: Easter Monday, Ascension Day and Pentecost Monday, the above dates are the same every year and the holiday is always observed on the actual date rather than being moved to the nearest Monday (as the UK would do). Public holidays can therefore fall on weekends; to make up for this it is not uncommon for people to faire le pont (make a bridge) if a holiday falls on a Thursday (Ascension Day) or a Tuesday, by taking off the Friday or Monday to give themselves a four-day weekend. This leave will be part of their annual holiday entitlement, or the hours need to be made up, so while most businesses will be open on bridge days, some staff shortages can be expected. 

 

In 2022 four public holidays fall on Saturdays (1^st January) or Sundays (1^st May, 8^th May and 25^thDecember), and three have the option of bridging to a weekend (26^th May, 14^th July and 1^stNovember). It is worth noting that in many areas of rural France, although some opening is becoming more common, most shops are likely to be either closed or only open in the mornings on public holidays.

 

Other dates to note

6^th January, Epiphany, celebrated in France with a Galette des Rois (see here)

12^th January, winter sales begin, soldes d’hiver, sales are regulated in France and the winter sales will run from 12^th January to 8^th February (this may be subject to change, depending on current Covid-19 restrictions)

2^nd February Candlemas day, Chandeleur, celebrated in France with pancakes (see here)

1^st March, Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras when carnival time begins in France and pancakes, or beignets (similar to doughnuts) are eaten.

27^th March, clocks spring forward an hour to Central European Summer Time

10^th April, Palm Sunday, Rameaux a day where our local boulangeries bake something different (see here)

27^th May, Neighbours’ Day, fêtes des voisins

29^th May, Mother’s Day, fêtes des mères

19^th June, Father’s Day, fêtes des pères

21^st June, world music day, fête de la musique, celebrated with free concerts in towns and villages all over France

22^nd June, summer sales begin, soldes d’été, and will run until 19^th July

1^st July to 24^th July, Le Tour de France, with a planned depart in Copenhagen and a finish in Paris

24^th July to 31^st July, Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, the inaugural women’s Tour de France begins in Paris and finishes on the Planche des Belles Filles in the Vosges 

30^th October, clocks go back an hour to Central European Time (although the future of this is up for debate)

service-public.fr

 

School Holidays

In France the schools are split into three zones and most of the holidays are staggered so not everyone is trying to hit the ski slopes or beaches at the same time, although be prepared for extra traffic on the roads on all Saturdays during the school holidays, or better still avoid driving on these days.

 

Here are the dates for 2022:

The winter holiday is from 5^th February to 7^th March. 

Zone B gets the first two weeks, Zone A the middle two and Zone C the last two.

 

The spring holiday is from 9^th April to 9^th May. 

Zone B gets the first two weeks, Zone A the middle two and Zone C the last two weeks.

 

The summer holiday for all zones is from 7^th July until 1^st September.

 

The October holiday for all zones is from 22^nd October to 7^th November.

 

The Christmas holiday for all zones is from 17^th December to 3^rd January 2023.

 

Whether you are new to life in France, or just hoping that at some point in 2022 enough normality will return to ensure you are able to make plans to travel to France on your holidays, I hope you find this useful for planning your trip in the quieter weeks outside of the French school holidays. 

 

Brexit

Please see my post from last year (click here) detailing the changes that Brexit brought in regarding travel between the UK to the EU.

 

I really do hope you are able to enjoy a safe holiday in France at some point this year. 

 

If you have found this post useful, please feel free to share it with your French loving friends and family.