School holidays for the 2026-2027 academic year and public holidays: calendar dates by zone.

As the summer holidays come to a close, here is the 2026-2027 school holiday calendar. With the new school year in France set to begin on September 1, students can look forward to Toussaint holidays starting October 17, followed by Christmas break on December 19.

When are the Christmas and winter holidays scheduled? When will the school year end? Read on for the school holiday calendar for 2026-2027, as laid out in an official decree published in the Official Journal.

After several weeks of summer vacation, classes for all students across the country will resume on Tuesday, September 1, 2026. Regarding the All Saints' Day holidays, they will begin on October 17. For the Christmas holidays, you’ll have to wait until December 19, 2026. Next come the winter holidays, starting February 6 for Zone C, February 13 for Zone A, and February 20 for Zone B. What about the spring holidays 2027? Students in Zone C will go first, followed by Zone A and then Zone B.

The 2026-2027 school holidays calendar, zone by zone, set by a decree published in the Official Journal on October 22, 2025

Start of the school year: Tuesday, September 1, 2026
All Saints' Day holidays in 2026: From Saturday, October 17, 2026, to Monday, November 2, 2026

Christmas Holidays: From Saturday, December 19, 2026, to Monday, January 4, 2027

Winter Holidays 2027:
- Zone A: From Saturday, February 13, 2027, to Monday, March 1, 2027
- Zone B: From Saturday, February 20, 2027, to Monday, March 8, 2027
- Zone C: From Saturday, February 6, 2027, to Monday, February 22, 2027
Spring Holidays 2027:
- Zone A: From Saturday, April 10, 2027, to Monday, April 26, 2027
- Zone B: From Saturday, April 17, 2027, to Monday, May 3, 2027
- Zone C: From Saturday, April 3, 2027, to Monday, April 19, 2027
Summer Holidays 2027: Starting Saturday, July 3, 2027

Vacations start on the days indicated, after school. For students who do not have classes on Saturdays, vacations begin on Fridays after school. Classes resume on the mornings of the days indicated.

The three zones A, B and C are recalled:

Zone A: including the regions of Besançon, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, and Poitiers.
Zone B: covering Aquitaine, Amiens, Caen, Lille, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Nice, Orléans-Tours, Reims, Rennes, Rouen, and Strasbourg.
Zone C: comprising Créteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse, and Versailles.

Public holidays for the 2026-2027 school year

As for the long weekends and public holidays in the 2026-2027 school year, November 2026 looks tougher than in past years, with November 1 falling on a Sunday and November 11 landing on a Wednesday—midweek. On the upside, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day both fall on Fridays, paving the way for a three-day weekend. Looking ahead, there will be no extended breaks on May 1 and May 8, 2027, since those dates land on a Saturday.