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LIVING IN FRANCE

Traffic, shops and schools – what to expect in France over Easter weekend

Most of France enjoys a three day weekend over Easter, while one area gets four days off. From traffic and trains to shops, schools and medical services - here's what changes over the long weekend.

Published: 18 March 2024 13:00 CET
Updated: 30 March 2024 16:07 CET
Traffic, shops and schools - what to expect in France over Easter weekend
Easter equals chocolate (Photo by Guillaume BAPTISTE / AFP)

Easter itself falls very early this year: Easter Sunday also coincides with the clocks going forward an hour for summertime, while Easter Monday in 2024 is on April Fool’s Day.

France is, famously, a secular state but for historic reasons, it also has plenty of days off work for Christian holidays. At Easter, however, most of the country gets just one extra day off – Easter Monday – while Good Friday is a normal working day.

You can also expect Easter celebrations including egg hunts, special markets and – in one region – mock crucifixions.

Giant omelettes and flying bells – how the French celebrate Easter

Here is what to expect for the weekend;

Good Friday

If you are in Alsace-Lorraine you get both Good Friday (March 29th) and Easter Monday (April 2nd) off because of an historic war with Germany and powerful trade unions. In Alsace, you can expect closures and altered hours will resemble those on Easter Sunday and Monday.

However, the rest of France has school and work on Good Friday and as such, opening hours will be normal. If you work in a French company, don’t be surprised to see your colleagues coming into work with suitcases and sloping off early.

As many people will be taking the opportunity to go away for a long weekend, traffic is predicted to be heavy on the roads on Friday early afternoon and evening, especially heading out of cities and towards the coast. Traffic heading our of Paris will be particularly intense.

Likewise trains will be busy on Friday afternoon, with many trains completely booked out.

Saturday

Opening hours across the country will function as they normally do on Saturday.

Easter Sunday and Easter Monday

You can expect smaller or independent shops to be closed on Monday, while supermarkets may operate shorter opening hours, particularly on Easter Monday.

Schools have Monday off.

On Monday evening traffic will again be heavy on the roads as those holidaymakers head back into the city to start work and school again on Tuesday.

No TGVs will run between Bordeaux and Toulouse on Easter Sunday or Easter Monday because of pre-planned works.

There are no services between Orléans and Paris on the same two days for the same reason.

Public transport

City public transport runs all throughout the holiday period, albeit often with a slightly reduced timetable as there are usually fewer people travelling. Sunday-level services may operate on Easter Monday, for example.

But mainline train services also run across the period, with many routes running a near-normal timetable. 

READ ALSO Why 2024 is a very good year for holidays in France

Boulangeries, pâtisseries and florists 

Boulangeries or pâtisseries will be open pretty much as normal across the Easter weekend – but do watch out for notices advertising some opening hour changes. But, on the whole, you will be able to buy your necessary breakfast pastries and fresh baguettes, as well as a suitable gateau for the traditional Easter celebration with loved ones.

Supermarkets

Supermarkets may operate shorter hours on Easter Monday (and on Friday in Alsace). Independent shops in towns and cities may well remain closed for the day, but franchise stores are likely to open, as will restaurants and cafes.

What about schools?

Schools in France will be closed on Easter Monday, but open as normal on Good Friday in all but the Alsace region. Pupils also get a two-week holiday around the Easter period, at different dates depending on the school holiday zones. None of the holiday dates are directly linked to Easter itself this year. 

Schools in Zone C are off from Saturday, April 6th, and return on Monday, April 22nd; schools in Zone A are on holiday from Saturday, April 13th, returning on Monday, April 29th; and those in Zone B are off from Saturday, April 20th, returning on Monday, May 6th – in time to be off again for for three days because of VE Day on May 8th, and the Ascension holidays on May 9th and 10th.

Meanwhile, in Corsica, pupils are off from Saturday, April 27th, returning to classes on Monday, May 13th.

Doctors, pharmacies

Doctors’ surgeries are usually closed on public holidays, such as Easter Monday, but you can still get a non-emergency medical appointment via on-call medical centres known as maisons médicales de garde that provide care at weekends, nights or on public holidays when surgeries and doctors’ practices are closed.

Call 116 or 117 to contact your nearest on-call centre or log on to the maisonsmedicale.com. website. Be aware, consultations from on-call services like this are more expensive.

SOS Médecins will also operate as usual, and hospital emergency departments and ambulances will be available if you need them (dial 15 for an ambulance, or call the European number on 112).

Similarly, pharmacies operate a rota system to ensure that at least one is open in each area. To find your nearest, Google ‘pharmacie de garde’ plus the name of your commune.

Tourist attractions

Many tourist attractions will be open as normal throughout the Easter period, including Good Friday and Easter Monday (the Louvre, for example, is open as usual on both days) but some may operate altered opening hours. Check individual attraction’s website before visiting.

Salary payments

If you are a salaried employee in France you may find that your March pay-packet arrives late. This is due to European banking regulations combined with the fact that the Easter weekend is also the end of the month this year.

The European SEPA payment system for automated bank transfers takes a four-day break over Easter, so any bank transfers that you send over the weekend will not arrive until Tuesday.

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LIVING IN FRANCE

Are Canadian pensions taxed in France?

If you are considering retiring to France, you might be wondering whether you will still be able to access your Canadian pension and if it will be subject to French taxes. Here is what you need to know.

Published: 26 April 2024 16:20 CEST
Are Canadian pensions taxed in France?

Before going any further, it is worth noting that this article is meant to give an overview of the pensions situation for people with Canadian pensions. It does not replace professional financial advice, and Canadians looking to retire in France should still seek out expert financial assistance as needed.

The first step is to determine whether or not you are a tax resident in France (you can look through our guide). All tax residents must fill out a yearly tax declaration, and they must report all global income, even if it is not subject to tax in France. 

You should also consider if you have a pension from another country besides Canada, as different rules may apply based on that country’s bilateral tax treaty with France. Here is the situation for British, American, and Australian pensions, and here is an overview of the system.

Where is my pension taxed?

In Canada, the pensions system includes multiple tiers of public and private schemes, but luckily the double tax treaty between Canada and France is explicit about where pensions are taxed.

The Local spoke with Isaac Barchichat, a registered CPA in France, Canada and the USA to understand the situation for Canadians in France. He is a managing partner at Monceau CPA, an international accounting firm based in Paris with offices in the US and Canada.

He told The Local: “Tax treaties usually follow the OECD model, which means that Article 18 is usually focused on pensions.

“Article 18 for the Canada-France treaty is very similar to the USA-France treaty. This means that pensions are taxed in the country that they are issued in,” he said.

As a result, any Canada-based pension – whether that is the Old Age Security plan, the CPP (Canada Pension Plan) or QPP (Quebec Pension Plan), or a private personal or employer plan (such as Registered Retirement Savings Plans, or RRSPs) – would be taxed in Canada, not France.  

Barchichat explained that Canadians in France should still declare their pension income in France. Like Americans, they will receive a tax credit from France attesting that they have already paid tax in Canada on their pension.

“People should still maintain proof that the pension was already subject to tax, in case of an audit,” he added.

Barchichat also recommended that Canadians resident in France can make use of the ‘mention expresse’ section in their French tax declaration.

“Sometimes French local tax authorities fail to assess foreign income properly. Using the ‘mention expresse’ allows you to specify to French tax authorities Article 18 from the tax treaty to ensure that they process your documents properly,” he advised.

All of this being said, Canadians should beware that their pension income could still count towards your total household income in France, even though it is not taxed here. As a result, it could end up pushing you into a higher tax bracket.

What about social charges?

In addition to taxes (impôts), France also requires people to pay social charges (prélèvements sociaux) on income. However, only specific types of income can be considered for social charges, such as the CSM charge (PUMa) for healthcare. 

The general rule is that pensioners and their spouses do not have to pay the CSM charge, but France specifically exempts people who have a pension from France, the EU, the EEA and the UK (people with S1 forms), as well as their non-working spouses.

There is some debate over whether American and Canadian private pensions ought to be treated as a pension (and therefore exempt from CSM) or as investment income (which can attract CSM charges). 

When it comes to Americans, tax expert Jonathan Hadida from HadTax told The Local: “Under the principle of equality amongst taxpayers, URSAAF has treated most US pensions/IRA distributions/401(k) distributions akin to a French/Swiss/European pension and have therefore exempted Americans with pension income.”

“I have called URSSAF, and I was told by the representative that they should be paying for PUMa. But in practice, I have not seen many American pensioners charged for it.”

It is likely that similar standards are applied to Canadians. 

Barchichat, who is licenced in both the US and Canada, said that in his opinion neither American nor Canadian pensioners should be charged for prélèvements sociaux. 

“If this happens, it is a mistake by tax authorities”, he added. You can learn more about contesting a CSM charge here.

READ MORE: Cotisations: Why you might get an unexpected French health bill

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