Children's Education

School holidays in France: 2023 and 2024

Here is a list of school holidays in France in 2023 and 2024 to help expat parents make the necessary arrangements for holiday and childcare.

French school holidays
writer

By Gary Buswell

Updated 8-1-2024

If you are a parent living in France, you’ll need to mark the school holiday dates in your diary to make holiday plans or childcare arrangements. School holidays in France spread across the seasonal and festival periods. The exact date for some, however, are determined by what regional zone you live in.

To find out when the holidays fall, read on to learn about:

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School holidays in France

The French Ministry of National Education (Ministere de l’Education 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.

Father and child float on lilo in the sea in Corsica
Photo: Cultura Exclusive RM/©JFCreatives via Getty Images

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:

ZoneRegions
Zone ABesançon, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, and Poitiers
Zone BAix-Marseille, Amiens, Caen, Lille, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Nice, Orleans-Tours, Reins, Rennes, Rouen, and Strasbourg
Zone CCreteil, 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.

School holidays in France are an occasion for families to get together for festivities such as Christmas in France, enjoy local day trips or plan fun activities for kids. Other French festivals such as Bastille Day may also occur during the school holidays.

French school holiday dates 2023–2024

HolidayZone AZone BZone C
All Saints’ break21 October – 5 November 202321 October – 5 November 202321 October – 5 November 2023
Christmas break 23 December 2023 – 7 January 202423 December 2023 – 7 January 202423 December 2023 – 7 January 2024
Winter break 17 February – 3 March 202424 February – 10 March 202410–26 February 2024
Spring break13–29 April 202420 April – 5 May 20246–22 April 2024
Summer break6 July – 1 September 20246 July – 1 September 20246 July – 1 September 2024

French school holiday dates 2024–2025

HolidayZone AZone BZone C
All Saints’ break19 October – 4 November 202419 October – 4 November 202419 October – 4 November 2024
Christmas break 21 December 2024 – 5 January 202521 December 2024 – 5 January 202521 December 2024 – 5 January 2025
Winter break 22 February – 9 March 20258–23 February 202515 February – 2 March 2025
Spring break19 April – 4 May 20255–21 April 202512–27 April 2025
Summer break5 June 20255 June 20255 June 2025

A full calendar can be found via the Ministry of National Education.

Additional holidays and days off

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 in France. For other public holidays that fall on school days, you will need to check with your school to see if this is treated as a holiday.

Mother and child relaxing with two dogs at Tarn river in the south of France
Tarn river, Laveyron (Paulo Amorim/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

There may also be additional school-specific days off throughout the year, including:

  • Development days
  • Pupil book days
  • Staff training

Again, check with your school so that you can plan ahead for these. You can also look on your school’s website as many publish yearly calendars.

Childcare during French 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.