Working Days – France
France has 11 national public holidays, as defined by the Labour Code, which apply to all employers in both the private and public sectors. These days are non-working and paid for the vast majority of employees, subject to applicable collective agreement provisions. HR and payroll professionals must also master the distinction between working days and worked days, two concepts with very different implications under employment law.
Annual summary
| Other year | Working days | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 251 | |
| 2026 | 252 | |
| 2027 | 254 | |
| 2028 | 251 |
Need to calculate business days between two specific dates? France business days calculator
Holiday rules and practice in France
How public holidays work in France, and what that means when you count working days.
- Standard work week
- Monday–Friday
- 35 hours per week
- Substitute days
- No
- A public holiday that falls on a weekend is not replaced, so it produces no extra day off.
- Regional variation
- No
- The Alsace-Moselle region (Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Moselle departments) has 2 additional public holidays: Good Friday (Vendredi Saint) and St Stephen's Day (Dec 26, Saint-Étienne). This applies to approx. 1.8 million people. This calculator shows the 11 national holidays applicable to mainland France.
Bank holidays
France does not have a 'bank holiday' concept separate from public holidays. All official holidays are 'jours fériés'. Banks may have additional closure days but these are not statutory.
Local terminology
| Working day | jour ouvrable (includes Saturday) or jour ouvré (Mon–Fri only) |
|---|---|
| Public holiday | jour férié |
| Important distinction | In French payroll law, 'jour ouvrable' technically means any non-Sunday and non-public-holiday day (Mon–Sat = 6 days/week), while 'jour ouvré' means actual working days (Mon–Fri = 5 days/week). This calculator uses the Mon–Fri definition. |
Worth knowing
- There is no substitute day system — if a holiday falls on a weekend, it is lost.
- 'Pont' (bridge day) is a cultural practice of taking a Friday or Monday off between a holiday and a weekend, but it is not a statutory right.
- The 35-hour workweek (loi Aubry, 2000) means employees typically work fewer hours than a standard 40h/week country.
- France has exactly 11 national public holidays.
- May 8 (Victoire 1945) is a uniquely French holiday not observed in most other countries.
- Armistice Day (Nov 11) is an official public holiday in France.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between 'jour ouvrable' and 'jour ouvré' in French payroll?
Jour ouvrable refers to any day of the week except Sunday and public holidays, potentially six days per week (Monday to Saturday). Jour ouvré, by contrast, corresponds to days actually worked in the company, typically Monday to Friday. This distinction is fundamental, particularly for calculating paid leave, as the Labour Code uses working days as the legal reference unit.
What happens when a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday?
In France, there is no legal carryover mechanism: if a public holiday coincides with a Saturday or Sunday, it is lost and no compensatory day is automatically granted to the employee. However, some collective agreements do provide more favorable provisions, such as granting an additional day of rest, which should be verified on a case-by-case basis.
Is the 'pont' (bridge day) a legal right for employees in France?
No, the pont—taking a non-working Friday or Monday between a public holiday and a weekend—is a very common cultural practice but does not constitute a legal right enforceable against the employer. It is the employer who has sole discretion to grant or refuse a pont, sometimes in recovery of hours not worked. The terms may also be defined by company agreement or collective agreement.
Do employees in Alsace-Moselle benefit from additional public holidays?
Yes, the local Alsace-Moselle regime, still in force in the departments of Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, and Moselle, provides two additional public holidays: Good Friday and December 26 (Saint Stephen's Day). These days are added to the 11 national public holidays and are mandatory non-working days for employees subject to this local law, which employers in these territories must necessarily incorporate into their payroll management.
How does the statutory working time of 35 hours impact the calculation of worked days in France?
The 2000 Aubry Law sets the statutory working time at 35 hours per week, which is lower than the 40-hour standard practiced in many other countries. In practice, this reduction in working time often results in the allocation of additional days off called RTT days (jours de réduction du temps de travail), with the annual number varying depending on the working time organization chosen by the company. Payroll professionals must therefore account for these RTT days in addition to public holidays when determining the actual number of available worked days.