PUBLIC HOLIDAY. In May 2024, the next public holidays fall on Wednesday May 8 and Thursday May 9 of Ascension Day. Do the students bridge the gap on May 10? Find out everything about the public holiday calendar.
[Mis à jour le 6 mai 2024 à 16h58] The next public holidays of the year 2024 are the Armistice Bank Holiday of 1945 which falls this Wednesday May 8 and the Christian feast of the Ascension, which falls this Thursday May 9, a rarity on the calendar, and which allows you to bridge the gap by posing on Friday May 10. Especially for parents, it is good to know that schools in all academic zones A, B or C will not be open on Friday May 10 or Saturday May 11.
Indeed, on the official website of National Education, it is clearly announced that “for the year 2023-2024, classes will be held on Friday May 10, 2024 and Saturday May 11, 2024”. On the other hand, private and public employees do not necessarily have a day off following this Ascension holiday. In the private sector, the decision depends on the goodwill of the employer according to the Labor Code, and in the public sector, each administration sets its own rule.
Then comes Pentecost Monday on May 20, which will give you a nice 3-day weekend! What will happen after the summer holidays which start on Saturday July 6? Consult the list of public holidays for 2024 to know when to go and download our calendar of School vacation 2023-2024 with public holidays.
Here is the official calendar for the 2023-2024 school year which contains, in addition to the traditional holiday periods by zone, the dates of public holidays in France:
Consult the dates of the 11 public holidays in 2024 in France, in order to plan a vacation well in advance!
- Monday January 1, 2024 : New Year’s Day
- Monday April 1, 2024 : Easter Monday
- Wednesday May 1, 2024 : Labor Day
- Wednesday May 8, 2024 : Armistice 1945
- Thursday May 9, 2024 : Ascent
- Monday May 20, 2024 : Pentecost Monday
- Sunday July 14, 2024 : National Holiday
- Thursday August 15, 2024 : Assumption
- Friday November 1, 2024 : Toussaint
- Monday November 11, 2024 : 1918 Armistice
- Wednesday December 25, 2024 : Christmas
How many public holidays are there in France each year?
Public holidays commemorate a civil or religious holiday or a significant event, the list of which is defined by the Labor Code. In France, the year has 11 public holidays, compared to 10 in Belgium, 12 in Spain and 9 in Germany. In Europe, it is the Cypriots who benefit from the most public holidays with 15 days per year. Conversely, in the United Kingdom, there are only 8. These dates were determined according to the history and culture of the countries. There are therefore two types of public holidays in our country, civil and religious.
There are 5 civil holidays: New Year’s Day, a public holiday since the 1st Empire in 1810, May 1 (Labor Day) declared non-working in 1919, May 8 which commemorates the capitulation of Germany, July 14 which celebrates the capture of the Bastille and who has been unemployed since July 6, 1880, and November 11, Armistice Day of the First World War. And 6 religious holidays: Assumption, Ascension, All Saints’ Day, Christmas, Pentecost and Easter are the 6 religious holidays in France.
The first four became public holidays from 1802 following the signing of the Concordat between Bonaparte and the papacy. Easter Monday and Pentecost Monday were added in 1886. Note: there are some local particularities: in Alsace-Moselle, Good Friday and December 26 are also public holidays and in the French Overseas Territories, the abolition of slavery is commemorated.
Are public holidays paid?
May 1st, Labor Day, is in France the only obligatory day off and paid by companies (but there may be professions which are exceptions.) For other public holidays, the law provides that when the day is not is not worked in a company, the employee must be paid from 3 months of seniority. If the public holiday is worked, the employer is not obliged to pay his employee more, however certain collective agreements provide for an increase.
It is therefore advisable to consult your collective agreement to find out your situation. Regarding bridges, there is no obligation for the employer to grant them. If the collective agreement does not specify this particularity, the employer remains free to decide. In any case, he is not obliged to pay his employee that day. On the other hand, the employer can impose a bridge on employees.
Is a public holiday a non-working day?
A public holiday is not necessarily a non-working (non-working) day. The employer has the right to ask his employee to work on a public holiday, with the exception of May 1, Labor Day. Indeed, May 1 is the only compulsory public holiday for all employees of all companies in France. It is therefore obligatorily off-duty and paid unlike other public holidays. But if May 1 falls on a usual day of rest in the company (for example, a Sunday), it will not be paid and it does not give rise to the right to additional rest.