Long weekends in France, 2026
France has 5 breaks of three consecutive non-working days or more in 2026, each one created by a public holiday rather than by the weekend alone.
Every break, longest first
| From | To | Days | Holiday behind it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 4 Apr | Mon, 6 Apr | 3 | Easter Monday |
| Fri, 1 May | Sun, 3 May | 3 | Labour Day |
| Fri, 8 May | Sun, 10 May | 3 | Victory in Europe Day |
| Sat, 23 May | Mon, 25 May | 3 | Whit Monday |
| Fri, 25 Dec | Sun, 27 Dec | 3 | Christmas Day |
Bridge days
Each of these is a single working day with a holiday on one side and a non-working day on the other. One day of leave turns it into a break of four days or more, which is why these dates empty out even though nobody is formally off.
| Date | Day | Adjacent holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Fri, 2 Jan 2026 | Friday | New Year's Day |
| Fri, 15 May 2026 | Friday | Ascension Day |
| Mon, 13 Jul 2026 | Monday | Bastille Day |
Taking all 3 bridge days costs 3 days of leave and produces 3 breaks of at least four consecutive days. That is the cheapest time off available in the 2026 calendar, and it is also why these are the first dates to be booked out.
How these are worked out
Every day of 2026 is classified as working or non-working using France's own weekend pattern and its nationwide public holidays. Consecutive non-working days are then grouped into runs, and any run of three days or more that contains at least one public holiday is listed above. Runs made of a weekend alone are excluded, since a two day weekend is not a long weekend.
Regional holidays are not included. In countries where regions set their own dates, the real picture locally can be better than the one shown here, sometimes considerably.