School calendar 2026-2027 : dates of school holidays in France by zone and public holidays to plan for

Every year, millions of families eagerly await the release of the school calendar. For the 2026-2027 year, the dates are now set by official decree, allowing parents, teachers and professionals to structure their year precisely. Between the start of school on September 1, 2026 and the long summer holidays, the 2026-2027 school calendar is organized around staggered holiday periods according to three distinct academic zones, complemented by public holidays not to be forgotten.

In short: The school year begins on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, preceded by the teachers’ pre-term day on Monday, August 31. The All Saints’ holidays and Christmas holidays are identical across all of France (October 17 to November 2, then December 19 to January 4). However, winter and spring holidays vary according to zones A, B and C to stagger departures. Eleven public holidays punctuate the 2026-2027 school year, including Armistice Day on November 11 and Bastille Day on July 14. For families planning trips or courses, knowing these holiday dates in advance greatly facilitates annual planning.

The foundations of the 2026-2027 school calendar: start of term and first holidays

The school year opens with an emblematic moment: the start of term. Tuesday, September 1, 2026 officially marks the beginning of classes for students across France, while teachers resume their duties from Monday, August 31 for preparations. These dates structure the year like the first stitches of a binding, giving shape to what follows.

Barely six weeks later comes the first significant break. The All Saints’ holidays run from Saturday, October 17 to Monday, November 2, 2026, a period identical for all academies, whether they belong to zone A, B or C. This uniformity reflects a balance between the natural rhythm of the civil year and pedagogical needs: enough time for children to adapt to new learning, short enough to maintain continuity.

The Christmas holidays follow, a period rich in collective meaning. From Saturday, December 19, 2026 to Monday, January 4, 2027, schools close their doors, offering families a winter break where traditions and intimate moments resonate differently. These holidays encompass the end-of-year festivities and the turn of the year, a time many reserve for rest or family travel.

Understanding the school zone system A, B and C

The 2026-2027 school calendar is based on a particular architecture: the division into three academic zones (A, B, C) and Corsica. This system, set up to smooth peak tourist flows and avoid massive simultaneous departures, resembles the meticulous adjustment of a binding. Each element finds its place, not all at the same time.

Zone A includes eight academies: Besançon, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon and Poitiers. These regions will have winter holidays from February 13 to March 1, 2027, and spring holidays from April 10 to April 26, 2027. For a family living in Lyon or Bordeaux, these dates structure the year with a certain predictability.

Zone B groups eleven academies: Aix-Marseille, Amiens, Caen, Lille, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Nice, Orléans-Tours, Reims, Rennes, Rouen and Strasbourg. Its winter holidays run from February 20 to March 8, 2027, while its spring holidays run from April 17 to May 3, 2027. This offset allows ski resorts or coastal destinations to manage flows differently from week to week.

Zone C comprises five major academies: Créteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse and Versailles. It benefits from earlier winter holidays, from February 6 to February 22, 2027, and spring holidays from April 3 to April 19, 2027. This earlier break sometimes reflects a geographic or demographic logic: the Paris region and its surroundings, densely populated, require particular management.

Corsica, for its part, follows partially distinct arrangements, with dates still to be confirmed for some periods, while its summer holidays coincide with the rest of the territory: Saturday, July 3, 2027.

Public holidays 2026-2027: time markers and opportunities for breaks

Beyond the school holidays themselves, the 2026-2027 calendar is punctuated by eleven statutory public holidays that mark the civil and cultural year. Some fall on weekends or during school holidays, but others offer valuable weekday breaks.

The year begins solemnly with All Saints’ Day (Sunday, November 1, 2026), quickly followed by Armistice Day (Wednesday, November 11, 2026), which commemorates the end of the First World War. Christmas (Friday, December 25, 2026) and New Year’s Day (Friday, January 1, 2027) fall within the continuity of the winter holidays. Easter Monday (Monday, March 29, 2027) provides an additional spring break, a time when nature awakens.

The month of May concentrates several celebrations: Labor Day (Saturday, May 1, 2027), Ascension (Thursday, May 6, 2027) and Victory in Europe Day (Saturday, May 8, 2027). Whit Monday (Monday, May 17, 2027) concludes this spring series. Finally, Bastille Day (Wednesday, July 14, 2027) lights up the summer, while the Assumption (Sunday, August 15, 2027) closes the long holidays.

Note: pupils educated in Alsace-Lorraine benefit from two additional public holidays: Saint Stephen’s Day (Saturday, December 26, 2026) and Good Friday (Friday, March 26, 2027), reflecting local historical and cultural specificities.

Planning your year: family organization and holiday planning

Knowing the holiday dates of the 2026-2027 school calendar in advance transforms the management of the year. For parents, it means preparing professional leave, booking accommodations before prices soar, or organizing educational courses. For children, it allows structuring learning and planning cultural or sporting activities during the breaks.

Holiday periods are never neutral: they offer opportunities to consolidate certain skills, to review concepts before returning, or simply to breathe. A family whose children study in zone A will be granted earlier winter holidays than a family in zone C, which will be able to enjoy a later spring to go outdoors.

For inter-zone families, the offset sometimes creates tensions: children who do not leave on the same dates, fragmented leave-taking. But it also promotes a fairer distribution of tourism resources and a relative drop in prices outside major peaks. Planning becomes an art of balance between school constraints and family aspirations.

Several resources exist to better organize the year. The benefits available in 2026 and their ceilings can support families in their holiday projects. Likewise, the choice of destination also depends on environmental considerations: the impact of warming on tourist seasons is gradually changing ideal destinations according to the periods.

From written word to memory: the importance of the paper calendar

In the digital age, printing a school calendar may seem anachronistic. Yet having a paper document — annotatable, stickable on the fridge, consultable without a battery — remains a gesture anchored in the daily reality of households. It’s like writing the pages of a family story before time turns them.

Families find it useful to download and print the 2026-2027 school calendar in A4 format, yearly or half-year versions, to consult at any time. Some note birthdays, holiday homework, planned outings. Others laminate it so it withstands the hazards of the family kitchen. This document thus becomes a tool for collective synchronization, where everyone can see at a glance where the year stands.

Downloading these resources in PDF or JPG offers the necessary flexibility to share them, adapt them to one’s needs or archive them. The calendar is no longer merely administrative; it becomes the backbone of a planned, structured, visible organization.

The academies in detail: where do you live? Which zone are you in?

To avoid getting lost, some geographic markers help locate your academy. Zone A mainly stretches across the south-east and central-west quarter: if you are in Lyon, Bordeaux or Grenoble, your children will follow zone A’s calendar. These regions have their winter holidays in February-March, then spring holidays in April.

Zone B covers a wide arc from north to south-east, including northern academies (Lille, Amiens), Mediterranean coastal metropolises (Nice) and central-eastern regions. It shifts its winter holidays slightly (late February, early March) and delays its spring holidays a little more (mid-April, early May).

Zone C concentrates major urban centers: Île-de-France (Créteil, Paris, Versailles), south-west (Toulouse) and south (Montpellier). It enjoys earlier winter holidays, allowing families in the south to enjoy the beginning of spring. This offset also reflects the demographic importance of these regions, where managing educational flows has particular complexity.

Consulting the official map of school zones makes it possible to identify with certainty which academy your place of residence belongs to. Zone changes due to a move directly impact the family calendar; this is why clarity on this point is an essential prerequisite for any annual project.

The Ascension long weekend: a springtime window of rest

Between the spring holidays and the final weeks before summer lies a singular opportunity: the Ascension long weekend. For the 2026-2027 school year, this interval runs from Wednesday, May 5 (after classes) to Monday, May 10, 2027, offering an additional spring break.

This interruption coincides with a moment rich in meaning: Ascension (Thursday, May 6, 2027) is celebrated forty days after Easter. Many families take advantage of it for short getaways, nature hikes or reunions. It is a moment when the 2026-2027 school calendar breathes again, before the final stretch toward the summer holidays.

Summer 2027: toward the horizon of the long holidays

The 2026-2027 school calendar culminates with its long summer holidays. Saturday, July 3, 2027 marks the unified departure for all of France, a date identical whether you are in zone A, B or C. This final alignment symbolizes a form of equality: after months of staggered breaks, all children access this long, regenerating pause together.

The summer holidays stretch until the next school year, allowing a period of real relaxation, leisure, family adventures or simply time freed from the school pace. It is the horizon toward which the entire 2026-2027 school year tends, the moment when pages close and one prepares those to come.