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Holidays
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more about
how Parisians live
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by David Applefield
Holidays in France bring out two typically French traits: the respect for ceremony and ritual and the joy of not having to work. The French custom of taking a long weekend (faire le pont)-actually an extended weekend created when a holiday falls on a Thursday or Tuesday-is an occasion for most Parisians to exit to the countryside. The month of May is particularly affected. Beware of heavy traffic on the autoroutes, the périphérique, and at the main portes (gateways to the city). This is good news for those who stay because the pace of Paris slows down remarkably, leaving the tourist and others to enjoy the reduced traffic and noise. Being aware of holidays helps you stay in touch with the rhythms of French life (see Annual Events). Plan your activities around these dates since many shops, restaurants and museums close on public holidays.
The French are rather conscious of the Christian calendar as far as each day is assigned to a different saint. Best known is La Sainte Catherine on November 25, the day that all 25 year old, single women are presented with funny hats and dances are held in their honor. New Year´s Eve is called la St. Sylvestre.
The French also celebrate April Fools Day (le premier avril) with jokes and pranks, namely hanging paper fish on the backs of friends and strangers.
French law guarantees everyone who works (salarié) five weeks of paid vacation. Les vacances (congés payés), a cherished institution among the French, is a right, not a privilege. People in France live for les vacances; the entire year of work is often organized around the sacred period of non-work. Les vacances are not a negotiable benefit. If you are legally employed in France, you are entitled to your paid vacation, and if you are employing people in France you are legally obliged to allow for these weeks of paid leave. In general, it´s safe to say that the French are willing to trade higher wages for security and benefits, in other words, a higher quality of life. What one plans to do on one´s vacation, or what one has just finished doing, is usually the subject of casual conversation for about four months of the year. In fact, vacation plans are often made as early as February for the August break.
Aside from the five week vacation, which most people divide between summer and winter (three to four weeks in summer, one to two in winter), here is a list of holidays and their respective customs. Note that traditionally Paris empties out in August, with July being the second heaviest vacation month, although in recent years, especially among people who are in business, there has begun to be a trend away from the long August break. In any case, avoid traveling on July 1, July 30, August 1 and August 30. Or else be prepared to leave in the pre-dawn hours. The 15th of each summer month are difficult traveling days as well. School vacations (vacances scolaires) are nationally coordinated with all schools within each of the three zones of France sharing the same dates. Similarly, train and domestic flight schedules are divided into blue, red, and white days on the calendar with blue days being the cheapest to travel. Check these with a travel agent. The airports, especially Orly, can be an absolute mob scene due to the great French tradition of leaving town at the same time. Taking vacations of up to four weeks at a time is becoming somewhat less practiced although still the norm for many. Although Anglo-Saxons, especially Americans, admire this "luxury", those who are self-employed or have started businesses in France are often frustrated by the difficulty of getting anything done during the holiday period. Eventually you´ll learn that it´s better to follow the crowd than fight it. Don´t try to pull off overly ambitious projects in the month of August. There´s no shame or violation of the work ethic to shut down your business, abandon the mail, and forget the phone messages for a month. Au contraire, the French believe that a holiday must be long enough to break the stressful patterns of work.
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