France Public Holidays: 2026 Payroll Rules & Employer Guide

If you run payroll in France, you need to learn the public holidays. You see 11 statutory holidays on the calendar, but that doesn’t mean everyone is automatically a paid day off or requires premium pay. The answer usually comes down to three things: your collective bargaining agreement, the employment contract, and your company policy.

This guide gives you a fast, payroll-ready view of France's public holidays in 2026, whether time off is legally required, and what to check before you pay someone who works. 

2026 France public holidays calendar

Remember, in Alsace-Moselle, there are extra statutory holidays, including Good Friday in certain communes and the second day of Christmas, often called St. Stephen’s Day. Also, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, and Whit Monday move every year.

France's public holidays: what counts under the law

France’s statutory holiday list comes from the Labor Code and includes 11 legal public holidays, from New Year’s Day through Christmas Day. That gives you the legal baseline for payroll and scheduling.

That list isn’t the same as your company holiday calendar. If your business offers extra paid days off, those are company benefits, not statutory public holidays.

Holiday pay rules

Outside May 1, a public holiday in France does not automatically become a day off. In the private sector, an agreement at the company, establishment, or branch level usually decides which holidays are non-working. If there is no agreement, the employer can set the non-working holiday schedule.

When a public holiday is treated as a non-working day, employees generally keep their pay if they meet the usual eligibility rule, including at least three months of seniority with the company or establishment. That same rule can also cover seasonal employees who reach three months through successive contracts.

There are exceptions. Home workers, intermittent employees, and temporary agency workers are not covered in the same way by the standard paid-holiday rule. 

May 1 in France: the public holiday rule you cannot ignore

May 1 is the outlier. In most cases, it is a mandatory non-working holiday, and employees who do not work must still receive their usual pay. If your operation genuinely cannot stop and someone has to work on May 1, French law requires the employee’s normal pay for the hours worked plus an equal indemnity. In practice, that means double pay for those hours.

Working on a public holiday

For the other 10 statutory public holidays, French law does not automatically require premium pay just because someone works. That surprises plenty of employers the first time they run France payroll.

In practice, extra pay, a fixed bonus, or an additional rest day usually comes from the collective bargaining agreement, an in-house agreement, or your company policy. Before payroll adds a premium code, check the CBA first. It is usually the quickest way to get to the right answer.

If you are comparing holiday treatment across markets, take a look at our guides to paid vacation days by country and holiday bonuses in different countries.

Time off in lieu and substitute days

French law does not generally require time off in lieu when someone works on an ordinary public holiday. In most cases, a substitute day is a negotiated benefit rather than a default legal rule.

Still, many employers do offer a substitute rest day when employees work on a holiday, especially in sectors that regularly operate on those dates. The main thing is consistency. Document the rule in the collective agreement, employee handbook, internal policy, or contract addendum, then make sure payroll and managers are applying the same rule the same way.

Whit Monday and the Solidarity Day in France

Whit Monday is a public holiday, but it is also tied to one of France’s more confusing payroll wrinkles. Some employers use Whit Monday as the solidarity day. That is common, but it is not mandatory.

The solidarity day is basically one additional day of work each year that helps fund support for older adults and people with disabilities. In the private sector, the rules are usually set by agreement. If there is no agreement, the employer can choose the arrangement after consulting employee representatives, where required. For employees paid monthly, the work done on that day is generally not paid extra, up to seven hours. For part-time employees, that limit is reduced in proportion to their schedule. The day can be Whit Monday, another public holiday other than May 1, or another arrangement entirely. That is why it helps to keep the seven-hour solidarity day rule clearly documented in your payroll setup.

Public holiday handling for part-time, hourly, and variable schedules in France

Holiday treatment can look different for part-time employees, hourly workers, or anyone on a variable schedule because you first need to know whether the holiday falls on a day they were actually due to work. It sounds basic, but it is one of the easiest payroll mistakes to make. Holiday pay logic should follow the real schedule, the contract, and the applicable collective agreement.

Two edge cases are worth flagging early. Temporary agency workers are not covered by the standard three-month paid-holiday protection in the same way as regular employees. Home workers also follow a different framework, and any surcharge for Sunday or holiday work is usually determined by the applicable agreement. If your workforce includes either group, do not rely on your default holiday settings.

France public holiday compliance checklist for employers

A clean setup leads to clean results:

• Confirm the collective agreement. Identify the employee’s CBA and any company-level holiday rule before you process payroll.
• Define non-working holidays. Decide which public holidays your business treats as non-working days and document it clearly.
• Check May 1 coverage. Make sure your industry or operation really falls into the category that can require work on May 1.
• Confirm worked-holiday treatment. Verify whether your company owes premium pay, a fixed allowance, or a substitute day under the CBA or policy.
• Keep clean records. Store the rule in payroll records and in the handbook, policy file, or contract addendum.

Common French payroll mistakes around public holidays

Watch out for these common pitfalls:

• Treating every holiday as paid time off. In France, that is not the default rule.
• Assuming premium pay is always required. Usually, it is not unless May 1 is involved or the CBA says otherwise.
• Forgetting regional holidays. Alsace-Moselle can add extra location-based complexity.
• Mixing up Whit Monday and solidarity day. They are often linked, but they are not the same thing.

How an Employer of Record (EOR) can help

An employer of record is a third party that legally employs your team member in France on your behalf. This allows you to hire without establishing a local entity, avoiding the hidden costs of entity establishment. 

The EOR handles salary offers, employment contracts, payroll, tax withholding, statutory benefits, and all ongoing compliance. You manage the day-to-day work normally while the EOR takes care of just about everything else.

For employers testing the market or those who need to scale quickly, an EOR is usually the right choice. You get to reduce risk, move faster, and know all local laws and regulations will be followed.

Pebl perfects holiday pay in France

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve got your sights set on France. Maybe you’ve even found the perfect talent. There’s a lot that needs to be taken care of before you can start hiring—researching taxes, finding experts in local labor law, finding a payroll processor, and more. It takes a lot of time and a lot of money. Wouldn’t it be great if there were an easier way?

With Pebl, there is.

Our EOR platform allows you to hire, pay, and manage employees in 185+ countries around the world without setting up your own local entity. That means your new talent starts in days, not months. We handle it all: onboarding, benefits, salary benchmarking, payroll, and compliance with all local regulations. For every public holiday, overtime, or double-time pay the law requires, we make sure it happens. All you have to do is stay focused on leading your team.

When you’re ready to do things the easy way, let us know.

This information does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal or tax advice and is for general informational purposes only. The intent of this document is solely to provide general and preliminary information for private use. Do not rely on it as an alternative to legal, financial, taxation, or accountancy advice from an appropriately qualified professional. The content in this guide is provided “as is,” and no representations are made that the content is error-free. 

© 2026 Pebl, LLC. All rights reserved.