Holidays in France 2024 (state, unofficial and local)
In this publication, All-Holidays.Info will talk about holidays in France 2024. We will give the exact dates of different types of holidays and tell you where they are celebrated. Brief annotations are given for some authentic holidays. Don’t forget to share this article with your friends!
In France, there are 11 officially approved public holidays, which are celebrated throughout the country. In addition to them, in overseas departments and territories, the authorities established their own holidays dedicated to local significant dates. There are also local public holidays in the Lower and Upper Rhine, Alsace and Moselle. In this article, we have marked the 2024 public holidays in France with a note in parentheses.
Unlike most countries, public holidays are not non-working days. But there is one exception. Labor Day, May 1, is a paid day free from work and school. Regarding other holidays, vacations and compensation are regulated by the employment contract.
In addition to public holidays, the French celebrate unofficial holidays and days of remembrance. They are often called non-public holidays. There are no obligatory events held on these dates, although local administrations, organizations and individuals may organize celebrations. Below are the 2024 holidays in France in chronological order.
January 2024
Holidays in France in January 2024:
January 1, 2024 (Monday) – New Year’s Day (national holiday).
January 6, 2024 (Saturday) – Three Kings (unofficial holiday).
January 22, 2024 (Monday) – Franco-German day (unofficial holiday).
The Franco-German day coincides with the signing of the Elysee Treaty on January 22, 1963. It put an end to the centuries-old confrontation between France and Germany and outlined the countries’ intentions for friendship and cooperation.
February 2024
February 14, 2024 (Wednesday) – Valentine’s Day, Valentine’s Day (unofficial holiday).
March 2024
Holidays in France 2024 in March:
March 3, 2024 (Sunday) – Grandmothers’ Day (unofficial holiday).
March 5, 2024 (Tuesday) – Gospel Arrival Day (local holiday) – French Polynesia.
March 7, 2024 (Thursday) – Mid-Lent (local holiday) – Guadeloupe.
March 8, 2024 (Friday) – International Women’s Day (unofficial holiday).
March 11, 2024 (Monday) – National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism (unofficial holiday).
March 11, 2024 (Monday) – Beginning of Ramadan (unofficial holiday).
March 19, 2024 (Tuesday) – National Day of Remembrance of Civilian and Military Victims of the War in Algeria and the Fighting in Tunisia and Morocco (unofficial holiday).
March 29, 2024 (Friday) – Holy Friday (local holiday) – Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Guadeloupe, Alsace and Moselle.
March 31, 2024 (Sunday) – Easter Sunday (unofficial holiday).
The Arrival of the Gospel is the name in Tahiti for the day when the conversion of the indigenous peoples of Polynesia to Protestantism began. It was on March 5 that the ship of the London Missionary Society dropped anchor in a bay off the coast of Tahiti. The day of the arrival of the Gospel in French Polynesia is as important as Bastille Day in France.
April 2024
Holidays in France in April 2024:
April 1, 2024 (Monday) – Easter Monday (national holiday).
April 10, 2024 (Wednesday) – Eid al-Fitr (unofficial holiday).
April 24, 2024 (Wednesday) – National Day of Remembrance of the 1915 Armenian Genocide (unofficial holiday).
April 28, 2024 (Sunday) – Day of Remembrance of Deportees (Memorial Day).
April 28, 2024 (Sunday) – St. Pierre Chanel’s Day (local holiday) – Wallis and Futuna.
Pierre Chanel was a Christian missionary and martyr who preached on the island of Futuna from 1837 to 1841. On April 28, 1841, he was killed by a warrior sent by the local king Agili. The relics of Pierre Saint Pierre Chanel are kept in France.
May 2024
French holidays in May 2024:
May 1, 2024 (Wednesday) – Labor Day (national holiday).
May 8, 2024 (Wednesday) – Victory Day 1945 (national holiday).
May 9, 2024 (Thursday) – Europe Day (unofficial holiday).
May 9, 2024 (Thursday) – Ascension (national holiday).
May 10, 2024 (Friday) is National Day of Remembrance for Human Trafficking, Slavery and Abolition (Day of Remembrance).
May 12, 2024 (Sunday) – National Day of Joan of Arc and Patriotism (unofficial holiday).
May 19, 2024 (Sunday) – Pentecost (unofficial holiday).
May 20, 2024 (Monday) – Pentecost Monday (national holiday).
May 22, 2024 (Wednesday) – Abolition Day (local holiday) – Martinique.
May 26, 2024 (Sunday) – Mother’s Day (unofficial holiday).
May 27, 2024 (Monday) – Abolition Day (local holiday) – Guadeloupe.
May 28, 2024 (Tuesday) – Abolition Day (local holiday) – Saint Martin.
May 31, 2024 (Friday) – Neighbors Day (unofficial holiday).
June 2024
Holidays in France 2024 in June:
June 8, 2024 (Saturday) is the national day of remembrance for those who died for France in Indochina (remembrance day).
June 10, 2024 (Monday) – Abolition Day (local holiday) – Guyana.
June 16, 2024 (Sunday) – Father’s Day (unofficial holiday).
June 24, 2024 (Monday) – St. John’s Day (unofficial holiday).
June 29, 2024 (Saturday) – Autonomy Day (local holiday) – French Polynesia.
July 2024
Holidays in France in July 2024:
July 14, 2024 (Sunday) – Bastille Day (national holiday).
29 July 2024 (Monday) – Territory Day (local holiday) – Wallis and Futuna.
August 2024
August 15, 2024 (Thursday) – Assumption of the Virgin Mary (national holiday).
September 2024
Holidays in France 2024 in September:
September 24, 2024 (Tuesday) – Citizenship Day (local holiday) – New Caledonia.
25 September 2024 (Wednesday) – National Day of Remembrance for “Harki” and other members of the Auxiliaries (Remembrance Day).
Harkis are soldiers from local formations of Algerian Muslims (Arabs and Berbers), who took part in 1954-1962 during the Algerian War in battles on the side of France against the National Liberation Front. During the Algerian War, the Harkis were auxiliaries of the French armed forces, having no military status due to their religion and origin.
October 9, 2024 (Wednesday) – Abolition Day (local holiday) – Saint Barthélemy.
October 31, 2024 (Thursday) – Halloween (unofficial holiday).
November 2024
French holidays in November 2024:
November 1, 2024 (Friday) – All Saints’ Day (national holiday).
November 11, 2024 (Monday) – Singles’ Day (unofficial holiday).
November 11, 2024 (Monday) – Armistice Day 1918 (national holiday).
November 20, 2024 (Wednesday) – International Children’s Rights Day (unofficial holiday).
December 2024
Holidays in France 2024 in December:
December 5, 2024 (Thursday) – National Day of Remembrance for those who “fell for France” during the Algerian War and the battles in Morocco and Tunisia (Remembrance Day).
December 20, 2024 (Friday) – Reunion Island Freedom Day (abolition of slavery) (local holiday) – Reunion.
December 24, 2024 (Tuesday) – Christmas Eve (unofficial holiday).
December 25, 2024 (Wednesday) – Christmas (national holiday).
December 26, 2024 (Thursday) – Saint-Etienne (local holiday) – Alsace and Moselle.
December 26, 2024 (Thursday) – St. Stephen’s Day (local holiday) – Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Moselle.
December 31, 2024 (Tuesday) – New Year’s Eve (unofficial holiday).
In this publication, All-Holidays.Info talked about holidays in France in 2024. We provided the exact dates of state national and local holidays, memorial days and unofficial French holidays in 2024. We hope you found the information you were interested in. Don’t forget to share this post with your friends!
