Do you already live on the French Riviera with your children? Or do you plan to visit France but want to avoid crowds at all cost? Here are the all important upcoming French school holiday dates to mark in your calendar. And remember that private schools may have slightly different dates for the holidays. So make sure you double-check before booking your flight.
Three School Zones in France: A, B and C
Luckily, the Ministry of Education decided, back in July 1995, to divide the country into three zones to stagger the winter and spring holidays. To make matters more interesting, the areas in a same zone are not adjacent but were designed to split the population evenly. They are as follows:
ZONE A includes Bordeaux, Besançon, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, Poitiers.
ZONE B includes Aix-Marseille, Amiens, Caen, Lille, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Nice, Normandie, Orléans-Tours, Reims, Rennes, Rouen, Strasbourg (and also the French Riviera).
ZONE C includes Créteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse, Versailles + Corsica.
French School Holidays
There are five main school holiday periods in France. They are:
- All Saints’ Day (Toussaint),
- Christmas (Noël),
- February/March (Hiver),
- Easter (Printemps), and
- Summer (Été).
And let’s not forget the infamous ‘Ascension Bridge‘ (Pont de l’Ascension). As Ascension Day always falls on a Thursday (40 days after Easter Sunday), all school children get Friday off (famously known as the ‘pont‘ or bridge to the weekend!). This encourages many employees to do the same… and enjoy a long four-day weekend. Mais bien sûr!
Easter Holidays 2025 in France
ZONE A: From Friday 18 April to Monday 5 May 2025
ZONE B: From Friday 4 April to Tuesday 22 April 2025
ZONE C: From Friday 11 April to Monday 28 April 2025
Ascension Bridge (Pont de l’Ascension) 2025
Thursday 29 May 2025 to Monday 2 June 2025.
(Same dates for Zones A, B and C.)
Summer Holidays 2025 in France
From Friday 4 July 2025 to Monday 1 September 2025.
(Same dates for Zones A, B and C.)
All Saints Holiday 2025
From Friday 17 October 2025 to Monday 3 November 2025.
(Same dates for Zones A, B and C.)
Christmas Holidays 2025
From Friday 19 December 2025 to Monday 5 January 2026.
(Same dates for Zones A, B and C.)
Winter Holidays 2026 in France
ZONE A: From Friday 6 February to Monday 23 February 2026
ZONE B: From Friday 13 February to Monday 2 March 2026
ZONE C: From Friday 20 February to Monday 9 March 2026
Easter Holidays 2026
ZONE A: From Friday 3 April to Monday April 2026
ZONE B: From Friday 10 April to Monday 27 April 2026
ZONE C: From Friday 17 April to Monday 4 May 2026
Ascension Bridge (Pont de l’Ascension) 2026
From Wednesday 13 May to Monday 18 May 2026
(Same dates for Zones A, B and C.)
Summer Holidays 2026
From Friday 3 July 2026 (end date TBC)
(Same dates for Zones A, B and C.)
Finally, let us not forget the all-important French public holidays: 1 May (Labour Day), 8 May (VE Day) and Whit Monday (5 June in 2025).
 in France for summer, Christmas, Easter & All Saints etc.){kind=link}