If you live in France, or are travelling here on a day that coincides with a bank holiday (jour férié) you will notice that many retail shops close on these dates, and public transport will operate at reduced schedules.
The French also commonly practise an oddity called ‘faire le pont’ whereby if a bank holiday falls on a Thursday, they will often shut up shop or extend the ‘holiday’ to include the Friday and often the following Monday.
So, be aware that while a bank holiday may be recognised on a certain date, that shops, services and companies may be closed a few days either side of that date.
Here are the dates of French bank holidays (public holidays) for 2015:
January – 1st
April – 6th
May – 1st, 8th, 14th, 25th
July – 14th
August – 15th
November – 1st, 11th
December – 25th
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