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WHAT CHANGES IN FRANCE

What changes in France in May 2024

From four public holidays to the Olympic torch relay and tax deadlines - here's what is happening in France in May.

Published: 23 April 2024 08:07 CEST
Updated: 1 May 2024 06:19 CEST
What changes in France in May 2024
A person holds lilly of the valley flowers as people march in the annual May Day workers' rally in Lyon, southeastern France, on May 1, 2015. (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD / AFP)

Public Holidays

There are several public holidays in the month of May – this year, all four of them fall on weekdays, meaning workers can benefit from plenty of time off.

The first is International Worker’s Day, or May Day, which is on Wednesday, May 1st. Expect trade union demonstrations and marches and the giving of the lucky lily-of-the-valley flowers.

The other public holidays are Wednesday, May 8th (Victory in Europe Day), Thursday, May 9th (Ascension), and Monday, May 20th (Whit Monday, or lundi de Pentecôte) – although Pentecost is for some workers only. 

May 8th often involves military parades and remembrance events in towns and cities around France. This year will mark the 79th anniversary of the end of the war.

Elections deadline

If you are eligible to vote in the European elections, you should verify you are properly registered. May 1st is the deadline for online registrations, while May 3rd is the deadline for those sent by the post or registrations done at your local town hall.

READ MORE: How to register in France to vote in the 2024 European elections

The elections themselves are in June.

Tax Deadlines

May also brings the first deadlines for the annual tax declaration – compulsory for almost everyone in France.

If you are unable to file the declaration online, you can use a paper declaration. This must be mailed by May 20th.

For the online declarations, you have until May 23rd (at 11.59pm) if you live in the départements 1 to 19, and until May 30th for the départements from 20 to 54. For the remaining départements, you have until June 6th at midnight.

READ MORE: The bumper French tax guide for 2024

Professional training funding

Starting on May 1st, workers in France will have to put €100 of their own money toward professional training, or ‘compte formation professionel’. This is the state-funded programme to help people get work-related training, but you can use it for other practical things such as getting a driving licence if you do not already have one.

READ MORE: Mon CPF: What changes with France’s €500-a-year training budget

MaPrimeRénov changes

France’s scheme to help households pay for energy renovations to their homes will change between May 15th and December 31st. First, you will still be able to use it to finance single projects work, such as fixing insulation, and you will be able to do this without giving a prior energy rating, which means that homes with lower energy scores will be eligible for single-project renovations longer.

READ MORE: GUIDE: French property grants you might be eligible for

Natural gas prices

Starting in May, bills will increase slightly for those who either heat their homes with gas, or use it for cooking/ heating hot water. 

The Commission de Régulation de l’Energie (CRE) announced a 1.4 percent increase in the benchmark price of gas, which means that for people using gas for cooking and heating, there will be an increase of €1.48 per MWh including tax, i.e. €111.19 megawatt per hour compared with €109.71 in April 2024.

Anniversaries

There are several anniversaries this May 2024 – from May 4th (the 100th anniversary of the 1924 Paris Olympic Games) to May 30th (the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Channel Tunnel).

Increased medical costs

In January, the French government announced plans to double two healthcare expenses, the franchise médicale and the participation forfaitaire. The franchise médicale was already increased at the start of April, but the participation forfaitaire will increase from a flat rate of €1 to between €2-3 starting on May 15th. 

These are the small healthcare costs for things like prescriptions, appointments and travel to and from healthcare visits that are not reimbursed by the state.

READ MORE: Why medical costs are rising in France in 2024

Olympics events

The Olympic torch has already started its journey from Greece, and will arrive in Marseille on May 8th before beginning its relay around France. You can see the route here.

For Paris residents, if you live within the area closest to the Seine river, close to where the Opening Ceremony will be hosted, then you will need to register with a QR code for security purposes. The platform to do so will open on May 10th.

READ MORE: Which areas will be closed in Paris during the Olympics?

Assisted dying legislation

French President Emmanuel Macron announced in March that a bill on assisted dying will be presented to parliament before the summer.

Parliament is set to start examining it on May 27th. It follows a lengthy consultation via a citizens’ council of 184 French citizens, who came up with a series of measures to legalise “active assistance to dying”.

European night of Museums 

On Saturday, May 18th many museums will keep their doors open – for free – all night long as part of the “European night of museums”. This year will mark the 20th edition of the event since its launch in 2005. Several Paris museums take part, outside of Paris you can find more information on the website for your local town hall. For Paris, more information here.

The Cannes Film Festival 

The 77th edition of the Cannes film festival will take place from May 14th to 25th at the Palais des festivals et des congrès in Cannes. 

Eurovision 

You can watch France compete in the Eurovision song contest in Sweden this year. The semi-finals are set for May 7th and May 9th (although France goes straight through to the finals every year as one of the ‘big five’ who fund the contest). The final is on Saturday, May 11th. France will be represented by the artist Slimane. 

READ MORE: 5 things to know about France’s 2024 Eurovision song

Sports

The final of the Coupe de France football tournament is on May 25th, with the time and location TBD.

The French Open (Roland-Garros) tennis tournament will also take place in May – starting on Sunday, May 26th and going until June 9th.

Mother’s Day and Neighbour’s Day

There are a couple of important days you won’t want to miss this May.

Mother’s Day in France will fall on May 26th, though if your mother is in the UK you may have already missed it (it was on March 10th). For Americans, Mother’s Day always falls on the second Sunday of May – so be sure to mark May 12th in your calendar.

Then there is also Neighbour’s Day, or the Fête des Voisins, which is the perfect opportunity to say hello to your neighbours. This year it will take place on May 31st. 

READ MORE: Fête des Voisins: All you need to know about ‘neighbours day’ in France

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For members

WHAT CHANGES IN FRANCE

What to expect on May 1st in France

Demonstrations, flowers, closures, traffic and rain - here's what to expect if you're in France on May 1st 2024.

Published: 29 April 2024 10:45 CEST
Updated: 1 May 2024 06:20 CEST
What to expect on May 1st in France

May 1st is a significant day in the French calendar, with a lot of history and events around the country.

Here’s what to expect this year;

Day off

May 1st is a public holiday and this year it falls on a Wednesday, meaning a day off for most workers.

It forms an opportunity to ‘faire le viaduct’, so don’t be surprised if your colleagues have booked either the Monday and Tuesday or the Thursday and Friday off work to create an extended break.

Closures

Most workplaces will be closed on Wednesday, including all public administration offices such as préfectures and mairies. Some smaller offices may also have revised opening hours for the rest of the week if their staff have booked extra holiday, so it would be worth checking in advance if you’re planning a visit.

The Eiffel Tower will be open but both the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay close on May 1st. If you’re planning a visit to a smaller site it is worth checking in advance.

Smaller independent shops will mostly close for the day, some larger businesses and chains may be open but with reduced hours. Many supermarkets will close for the day.

Some restaurants, cafés and bars will stay open but many others will close so it’s definitely worth booking or at least checking opening hours if you are planning dinner or drinks out.

Employees who work on May 1st are entitled to get paid double wages (rather than simply getting an extra day off as is the case for other public holidays) which is why many businesses prefer to close. Some of France’s bigger tourist attractions close for only two public holidays – Christmas Day and May 1st.

Demonstrations 

May 1st has, since 1889, been International Workers’ Day and around the world there are demonstrations and marches held on the day as a demonstration of international solidarity.

This is a tradition that France has embraced with enthusiasm and most towns and cities will have a manif (demo). These are mostly organised by trade unions and are in the main calm and peaceful – families take their kids and there is music and snacks at the departure points.

There are serious subjects to be addressed, however, and this year many of the marches are focused on the rising cost of living and the increasing number of people living in a precarious financial situation, although some marches will also focus on issues such as gender inequality and climate change, while others will prioritise local issues such as funding for schools.

Expect road closures along the demo route and a heavy police presence – as is common with demos, there may be some trouble or violence towards the end of the march in the bigger French cities.

In Paris the demo will set off from 2pm from the Place de la République and head to Nation. Between 15,000 and 30,000 people are expected in Paris and nationwide the turnout is estimated at 150,000 – a steep fall from last year when around 800,000 turned out to protest against pension reform. 

Flowers

Before it was International Workers’ Day, May 1st was a festival with pagan roots celebrating the arrival of spring, and some of the traditions hark back to that.

In northern France you may (possibly) still see the ‘May tree‘ – a tree that a young man plants outside the home of the woman he wanted to marry.

Meanwhile all over the country you will see stalls selling bunches or pots of the pretty white lily-of-the-valley flowers (muguet).

These are a tradition going right back to the 1500s and are said to bring good luck. Florists and supermarkets sell them but you’ll also see temporary stalls set up, many run by trade unions or leftist groups who are raising funds for their organisation.

Muguet: France’s lucky May flower

Weather

Tradition might say that May 1st ushers in the return of les beaux jours, or the beautiful, sunny days of spring and summer, but this year the weather appears to have other ideas.

Unusually cold weather will persist through the week, with May 1st forecast to be rainy in many areas.

Traffic

If you’re heading to a popular local leisure spot like a beach or make on May 1st traffic might be heavier than usual, but traffic watchdog Bison futé has no alerts listed for Wednesday. Instead, traffic is predicted to be heavier on Saturday as people return from their extended ‘pont’ weekend, while the school holidays also finish for Zone B (northern France plus Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur).

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