French school holidays in 2024–2025

For parents, school is important. For children, the days in between the schedule are a bigger deal. The French school holidays cover the usual seasonal and festival periods, though, the exact dates are determined by what regional zone you live in.

Continue reading to find out more about the following:

An overview of French school holidays

The French Ministry of National Education (Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale) sets the dates for the school holidays in France. French schools have five holidays throughout the year:

• All Saints’ holiday (Vacances de la Toussaint)
• Christmas holiday (Vacances de Noël)
• Winter holiday (Vacances d’hiver)
• Spring holiday (Vacances de printemps)
• Summer holiday (Vacances d’été)

The breaks are usually around two weeks each, apart from the summer holidays, which last about eight weeks.

France splits schools into three different regional zones. Dates for the winter and spring holidays vary across the three zones. The zones are as follows:

Zone	Regions
Zone A	Besançon, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, and Poitiers
Zone B	Aix-Marseille, Amiens, Caen, Lille, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Nice, Orleans-Tours, Reins, Rennes, Rouen, and Strasbourg
Zone C	Creteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse, and Versailles

International schools in France generally follow the same holiday dates as other schools, although there may be some variation within individual schools. To be sure, check with your child’s school for full details.

When are the French school holidays in 2024–2025?

The first day of school in 2024–2025 falls on Monday, 2 September 2024. This applies to all school zones. Students will then have the following breaks:

Holiday	Zone A	Zone B	Zone C
All Saints’ holiday	19 October 2024 – 4 November	19 October 2024 – 4 November	19 October 2024 – 4 November
Christmas holiday	21 December 2024 – 5 January 2025	21 December 2024 – 5 January 2025	21 December 2024 – 5 January 2025
Winter holiday	22 February – 9 March 2025	8–23 February 2025	15 February – 2 March 2025
Spring holiday	19 April – 4 May 2025	5–21 April 2025	12–27 April 2025
Summer holiday	5 July – 31 August 2025	5 July – 31 August 2025	5 July – 31 August 2025

When are the French school holidays in 2025–2026?

The first day of school in 2025–2026 falls on Monday, 1 September 2025. This applies to all school zones. Students will then have the following breaks:

Holiday	Zone A	Zone B	Zone C
All Saints’ holiday	18 October – 2 November 2025	18 October – 2 November 2025	18 October – 2 November 2025
Christmas holiday	20 December 2025 – 4 January 2026	20 December 2025 – 4 January 2026	20 December 2025 – 4 January 2026
Winter holiday	7–22 February 2026	14 February – 1 March 2026	21 February – 8 March 2026
Spring holiday	4–19 April 2026	11–26 April 2026	18 April – 3 May 2026
Summer holiday	4 July – 30 August 2026	4 July – 30 August 2026	4 July – 30 August 2026

When are the public holidays in France?

France has 11 public holidays during the year, some of which fall within school holidays. Labor Day (1 May) is the only statutory paid holiday. For other celebratory days that happen during the week, you will need to check with your school to see if your children get the day off.

Tips for expat parents in France

Childcare during school holidays

There is a robust system of childcare in France available to working parents. Here are some of the options you can look into to prepare for the French holidays:

• Holiday centers (centres de vacances): For working parents of school-age children, there are state-supervised recreational holiday facilities available. These typically offer accommodation. There are also leisure/recreation centers (centre de loisirs in French) that offer daycare.
• Private holiday camp: Private camps are more expensive than state provision, but can be a good place for kids to meet other children from various countries as well as learn/improve their French. Providers include Jeunes Diplomates, which runs summer and winter language camps in the French Alps.
• Professional childminders (assistantes maternelles), au pairs, and babysitters: These offer childcare either in your home or on their own premises.

Costs vary between regions and centers, although discounts are available for those on low incomes. Check with your local school or regional educational department for full details of what is available in your area, when, and for how much.

Fun summer camps in France

There are a number of summer camps in France, including language schools, sports camps and adventure camps that are popular with expat children.