Public holidays in France

Public holidays in France

French etching from 1789 depicting the storming of the Bastille, commemorated as Bastille Day

There are eleven official public holidays in France, of which three are movable days which always fall on a weekday. The Alsace region and the Moselle department observe two additional days. These holidays do not shift when they fall during a weekend, which means that the average number of observed public holidays falling on weekdays (outside Alsace and Moselle) is 8.7 and ranges from seven to ten. Most Asian countries and all North American countries observe between two and ten more public holidays per year on weekdays.

Public holidays in France

Public holidays in France

<table><thead><tr><th>Date</th><th>English name</th><th>Local name</th><th>Remarks</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1 January</td><td>New Year's Day</td><td>Jour de l'An</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>moveable</td><td>Good Friday</td><td>Vendredi saint</td><td>Friday before Easter Sunday. Alsace and Moselle only.</td></tr><tr><td>moveable</td><td>Easter Monday</td><td>Lundi de Pâques</td><td>Monday after Easter Sunday (one day after Easter Sunday)</td></tr><tr><td>1 May</td><td>Labour Day</td><td>Fête du Travail</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>8 May</td><td>Victory Day</td><td>Victoire 1945</td><td>End of hostilities in Europe in World War II</td></tr><tr><td>moveable</td><td>Ascension Day</td><td>L'Ascension</td><td>Thursday, 39 days after Easter Sunday</td></tr><tr><td>moveable</td><td>Whit Monday</td><td>Lundi de Pentecôte</td><td>Monday after Pentecost (50 days after Easter), observed only in some businesses, see notes</td></tr><tr><td>14 July</td><td>National Day</td><td>Fête nationale française</td><td>French National Day, commemorates the Feast of the Federation</td></tr><tr><td>15 August</td><td>Assumption Day</td><td>L'Assomption</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1 November</td><td>All Saints' Day</td><td>La Toussaint</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>11 November</td><td>Armistice Day</td><td>Armistice 1918</td><td>End of World War I</td></tr><tr><td>25 December</td><td>Christmas Day</td><td>Noël</td><td>Newspapers are not published. Pubs, restaurants, shops, etc. closed all day by law.</td></tr><tr><td>26 December</td><td>Saint Stephen's Day</td><td>Saint Étienne</td><td>Alsace and Moselle only.</td></tr></tbody></table>

Overseas territories

Guadeloupe

• Mi-Carême (mid-Lent); occurs on a Thursday, 22 days after Ash Wednesday; therefore, between 26 February and 1 April. • Good Friday (Vendredi saint) • Abolition of slavery: 27 May.

French Guiana

• Abolition of slavery: 10 June.

Martinique

• Abolition of slavery: 22 May.

New Caledonia

• Citizenship Day (Fête de la citoyenneté): 24 September.

French Polynesia

• Missionary Day (French: Arrivée de l'Évangile): 5 March. • Matari'i (Tahitian: Matariʻi): 31 November.

Réunion

• Réunion Freedom Day (French: Fête réunionnaise de la liberté; Réunion Creole French: Fèt Kaf) 20 December.

Saint Barthélemy

• Abolition of slavery: 9 October.

Saint Martin

• Abolition of slavery: 28 May.

Wallis and Futuna

• Feast of Saint Peter Chanel: 28 April. • Festival of the Territory: 29 July.