When do france’s may bank holidays fall this year?

France has a number of bank holidays (_jours fériés_) throughout the year, but it enjoys a glut of them in May. In a normal year, France has 11 which is high compared to a number of

countries (there are eight, for example, in the UK). However, a key point to note with French bank holidays is that there is little flexibility on when they fall. So, if the holiday is on a

weekend, then you wave goodbye to a day off work. Here we look at the bank holidays in France over the coming weeks. EASTER MONDAY: MONDAY, APRIL 10 France only has one bank holiday for

Easter - they do not celebrate Good Friday with a _jour ferié_. They do, however, mark Easter Monday. LABOUR DAY (_FÊTE DU TRAVAIL_): MONDAY, MAY 1 In May, the French have almost one bank

holiday per week! The first falls on Monday, May 1, and marks _Fête du Travail_, which sees marches and demonstrations to celebrate workers and campaign for better rights. You might see

pavement stalls selling the white Lily of the Valley (_Muguet_), offered between family and friends to bring luck. VICTORY IN EUROPE DAY (_FÊTE DE LA VICTOIRE_): MONDAY, MAY 8 A week after

Labour Day, is another bank holiday, this time to mark the victory of Allied forces over Nazi Germany and the end of World War Two in Europe. ASCENSION: THURSDAY, MAY 18 This is France’s

first religious holiday of the month. Forty days on from Easter, it marks the day Christians believe Jesus ascended into heaven before his disciples. WHIT MONDAY (_LUNDI DE PENTECÔTE_):

MONDAY, MAY 29 The final bank holiday in May takes place on Monday, May 29 to celebrate _Lundi de Pentecôte_ (Whit Monday), which marks the descent of the Holy Spirit seven weeks after

Easter. However, this holiday is a little different from the others. Its status was changed in the aftermath of August 2003 when around 15,000 mainly elderly people died in France due to a

massive heatwave. Temperatures soared to 42C just after most government departments, including health and social services, had shut or slowed down for the summer holidays. Some of the

victims' bodies were only found when neighbours returned from holiday. After the tragedy, the then-government suffered heavy losses in regional elections and lots of ministers,

including the health minister at the time, were sacked. It led to a new law being voted through in 2004, which essentially saw the end of the _Lundi de Pentecôte_ public holiday. Instead,

the wages and payroll taxes for this day were used to fund a budget to improve care for the elderly in the community. This budget allows for mairies to maintain a list of vulnerable people

who should be contacted or visited during a heatwave, as well as money for old people’s homes to provide at least one air-conditioned living space. You will now find no reference to _Lundi

de Pentecôte_ in labour law books, having been removed in 2008, with this day off now negotiated between employers and employees and referred to as journée de solidarité (day of solidarity).

When the official holiday was first done away with, many French people simply refused to go to work on May 29. As a result many businesses now have the date booked in as either compulsory

holiday or have arrangements in place such as working two extra minutes on other days throughout the year to compensate for lost time on May 29. READ ALSO: LUNDI DE PENTECÔTE: A HOLIDAY IN

FRANCE LIKE NO OTHER CAN WE _‘FAIRE LE PONT’_ IN MAY? _Faire le pont_ (make the bridge) is what the French do to make the most of a bank holiday. If the _jour ferié_ falls close to a

weekend, they often take an extra day of paid leave and make a ‘bridge’ between the bank holiday and the weekend. For example, this year, since Thursday, May 18 is a bank holiday, you could

take off Friday, May 19, and get yourself a nice four-day weekend. RELATED ARTICLES MAP: FRENCH SCHOOL HOLIDAYS 2023-24 BY REGION REMINDER: THE DATES OF FRANCE'S 2023 HOLIDAYS AND DAYS

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