Vacances scolaires et jours fériés

School Holidays & Public Holidays 2020 - 2021

What are the dates of French holidays and school holidays? The answers to all your questions are here, area-by-area.

Public holidays

Traditionally, France has 10 public holidays per year. Schools, public services, banks and shops are usually closed on these days.

Here is the list:

  • 1 January: New Year’s Day
  • 1 May: Labour Day
  • 8 May: VE Day
  • Easter Monday
  • Ascension Day
  • 14 July: Bastille Day
  • 15 August: Assumption Day
  • 1 November: All Saints’ Day
  • 11 November: Armistice Day
  • 25 December: Christmas Day

School holidays

France is divided into three school zones: A, B and C. The start of the school year, the All Saints’ holidays, the Christmas holidays and the start of the summer holidays are the same in all three zones.
Nouvelle-Aquitaine is in Zone A

  • Zone A
    Besançon, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, Poitiers
  • Zone B
    Aix-Marseille, Amiens, Caen, Lille, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Nice, Orléans-Tours, Reims, Rennes, Rouen, Strasbourg
  • Zone C
    Créteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse, Versailles

School calendar for Zone A (inc. Bordeaux, Limoges and Poitiers):

Back to school for students
Term begins: Tuesday 1st September 2020
All Saints’ holidays
Term ends: Saturday 17 October 2020
Term begins: Monday 2 November 2020
Christmas holidays
Term ends: Saturday 19 December 2020
Term begins: Monday 4 January 2021
Winter holidays
Term ends: Saturday 6 February 2021
Term begins: Monday 22 February 2021
Spring holidays
Term ends: Saturday 10 April 2021
Term begins: Monday 26 April 2021
Summer holidays
Term ends: Tuesday 6 July 2021

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