Each year, social media posts poke fun at the long French holiday tradition, oftentimes comparing it to a lack of vacation time for workers in the US.

Your european colleagues when you try following up with them on a critical project due two weeks ago

pic.twitter.com/mQl7mrUdys

— The Random Recruiter (@randomrecruiter) July 29, 2024

There is a prevailing notion that France completely shuts down during the month of August, and all French people spend an entire month away from work. 

Make sure you pre-schedule time off for yourself and your family every year. 🏖️🛫🧳

European Out of Office VS American Out of Office – is this about right? 😁 pic.twitter.com/lifccse4hZ

— TriValleyKarate (@JKFGojuKaiUSA) June 29, 2022

But is this really true?

Paid leave for workers 

For those of working age, going on holiday means taking time off work. The standard allowance for annual leave for French workers is 25 days – this would allow for a four-week summer holiday but wouldn’t leave much remaining time for breaks at other times of the year such as Christmas.

READ ALSO These are the days off work that French workers are entitled to

If you meet someone who works full time and still manages to take a month off in August as well as breaks at other times of year it’s likely that they are a fonctionnaire taking advantage of the RTT days that form a crucial part of France’s 35-hour a week legislation.

Some workplaces – usually offices – close completely for two or three weeks over the summer, meaning that workers are forced to take a significant chunk of their annual paid leave allowance in the summer.

French law still technically requires that workers take their congé principal (‘primary’ paid leave, or four out of five weeks) between May 1st and October 31st (in the same year) – although some workplaces have collective bargaining agreements that nullify this requirement.

However some workplaces do have the right to ban time off at busy periods, and this can include the summer for certain sectors, notably the tourism sector. Tourism is big part of the French economy and for every French person relaxing in a beach resort, there is another who is working at that beach resort or the neaby restaurant or other tourist businesses.

Many other sectors continue as normal over the summer especially essential services such as healthcare, transport or sanitary services.

It’s true that French children get two months off school, but their parents usually get much shorter holidays – therefore holiday clubs spring up every summer to provide childcare, and of course they have to be staffed.

News media continues over the summer with newspapers, TV stations and websites producing regular content – including your hard-working team at The Local.

So how common is the August holiday?

A study from Atout France found that in 2023, 67 percent of French people did take some form of holiday or weekend trip during July and August (as of 2023), but this also meant that about a third of French people do not take paid leave during this period.

For those who skipped their summer holiday, the most common explanation (40 percent of respondents) was financial constraints. However 18 percent said they were just going to take their holidays during a different time of the year.

Research by Opinionway in 2022 (notably two years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic) found that the majority of French holiday makers (70 percent) went away for either one or two weeks over the summer. Only 13 percent went away for three weeks and only nine percent did more than three weeks.

Meanwhile, Ipsos polling from 2023 found that French holidaymakers took 2.2 weeks off over the summer on average, only slightly more than the European average of two weeks.

This study also broke things down by age, finding that French over-65s were most likely to take the longest trips – unsurprisingly, since the French standard pension age at that time was 62, meaning that most of these people would not have to take time off work. Over 65s had an average summer holiday of 2.4 weeks and 18 percent of them said they would go away for four weeks or more.

If you are in Paris you might notice the Paris plages urban beaches – the original idea behind these is to provide a ‘beach’ experience for the significant number of people in Paris who cannot travel to the seaside during the summer, either because of work or financial constraints.

Where does this idea come from?

The month of August has been the main period that people take time off for several decades, though some prefer the month of July.

READ MORE: Juilletistes vs Aoûtiens: Do France’s two summer holiday tribes still exist?

Despite schools being closed during both July and August, the latter tends to be the more popular month for holidays in France.

For example, camping grounds across the country had the most reservations in August, with 114,800 more nightly reservations than the second highest month (July).

According to Radio France, 40 percent of the country’s businesses close their doors at some point in August (as of 2018), noting that this has been a trend in France since the country first introduced paid holidays in 1936.

From the 1930s onwards, large factories and industries including Renault and Peugeot, would shut down production for two to four weeks – factories tended to close in August, making this the most popular holiday month for blue-collar workers.

There used to be legislation that required French bakeries to stay open for at least one month out of the summer (to ensure a continuity of bread services). That law was abolished in 2014, but bakeries are still encouraged to work together to ensure that at least one boulangerie per town or per arrondissement stays open during the summer holidays

It is also customary for French parliament (and president) to take a recess in August, though the situation is a bit special in 2024.

So can I get anything done in August in France?

As we have demonstrated, not everyone is actually on holiday in August and some aspects of life do continue.

The essentials are still in place – trains and public transport services run, hospitals and supermarkets are open, emergency workers turn up for work, the streets are cleaned and the bins are emptied (unless there is a strike).

If you are in a place geared towards tourism you will find that everything is open – this is their busiest time of the year and they will be working flat out.

Even away from obvious tourist areas, bars, cafés and restaurants usually remain open or may take a shorter break.

When it comes to retail it depends on the business – supermarkets, chains and multi-national businesses stay open but it’s common for small independent stories to close up so don’t be surprised to find a small cardboard sign on the door of your local boulangerie, butcher or florist announcing they will be be closed until the end of the month.

Your doctor or dentist may also take time off, especially if they are a single-person operation, but they will usually direct you to the local listings for emergency or out-of-hours care so you can find a temporary replacement.

If you’re emailing work contacts you can certainly expect to get a few out-of-office replies and this time of year (and don’t even try to get in touch by alternative means, French workers have the legal ‘right to disconnect’) and you might find that government bureaucracy runs a bit more slowly during this period.

Really, it depends where you are – cities tend to empty out and slow down, while beaches will be as busy as they come. Obviously Paris has a slightly different feel this year, due to the Olympics.

READ MORE: The 8 signs that August has arrived in France

Aside from the inconveniences, there are many reasons to love August in France (and especially in the deserted cities).