French school holidays by zone A, B, C: dates and countdown

Next French school holidays for zone A, B or C, Corsica and overseas, from the official Ministry calendar, with the number of days left.

French school holidays by zone: reading the official calendar

Mainland France is split into three zones (A, B, C) whose winter and spring holidays are staggered, while the autumn, Christmas and summer breaks are shared. The tool reads the calendar published by the French Ministry of Education and counts the days to the next holiday in the zone you pick.

What the tool shows

For the zone or territory you choose (zones A, B, C, Corsica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion, Mayotte, French Polynesia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, plus New Caledonia or Wallis and Futuna when the Ministry publishes them), it lists the periods whose return date has not passed yet, for the current school year and the next one once published. The countdown is in calendar days, Paris time. The list of académies (local education authorities) helps you find your zone.

Date convention

The dataset documentation states that pupils leave after classes on the start date and return in the morning of the end date. One exception we observed: for the Ascension long weekend, the published start date is the public holiday Thursday, or the single Friday off.

Example

Zone A, autumn 2026: holiday starts after classes on Saturday 17 October, school resumes on Monday 2 November. On 14 October 2026 the tool shows "in 3 days" and 15 days off, weekends included.

Updates

The Ministry publishes the calendar once a year, several years ahead (latest dataset update: 1 October 2026).

Limits

  • Only the pupils' calendar is shown; rows for teachers are left out.
  • A rector may adjust some dates locally; the académie has the final word.

Sources and dates: French Ministry of Education school calendar, dataset Le calendrier scolaire (data.education.gouv.fr), Etalab Open Licence 2.0, and the school calendar page (education.gouv.fr) (checked on 14/10/2026).

Frequently Asked Questions

Which French school holiday zone am I in?

The zone depends on the académie (local education authority). Zone A: Besançon, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, Poitiers. Zone B: Aix-Marseille, Amiens, Lille, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Nice, Normandie, Orléans-Tours, Reims, Rennes, Strasbourg. Zone C: Créteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse, Versailles.

When are the 2027 winter holidays in each zone?

According to the published calendar, zone C leaves after classes on Saturday 6 February 2027 (back on 22 February), zone A on 13 February (back on 1 March) and zone B on 20 February (back on 8 March). The three zones follow each other one week apart.

Do holidays start on Friday evening or on Saturday?

The official calendar says pupils leave after classes on the Saturday, for instance Saturday 17 October 2026 for the autumn break. Pupils without Saturday classes therefore leave on Friday evening. School resumes on the morning of the date shown, Monday 2 November 2026 in this example.

What are the 2027 summer holiday dates in France?

For pupils in zones A, B and C, the holiday starts after classes on Saturday 3 July 2027 and school starts again on Thursday 2 September 2027. Teachers' dates differ slightly and are not shown by the tool.

Is this tool really free?

Yes, all tools on Kristools are 100% free and accessible without registration.

Is my data protected?

Yes. All processing is performed directly and securely inside your browser. No personal data is sent to our servers.