Work culture, the 35-hour week and holidays

Newcomers commonly report that time off is taken seriously and planned well in advance:

• Five weeks of paid leave. Private-sector employees earn 2.5 working days of paid leave per month, which adds up to 30 working days (five weeks) over a full year, according to Service-Public.fr.
• Summer is holiday season. The main leave period runs from 1 May to 31 October, and at least 12 working days must be taken in one block within that period when leave is split. Employers set the order of departures and must confirm dates at least a month ahead, which is why holiday planning starts early in many teams.
• A 35-hour reference week. The legal working week for a full-time employee is 35 hours. Where people work more, many employers compensate with extra days off called RTT (réduction du temps de travail), as Campus France's guide for international students explains.
• Public holidays and long weekends. France has 11 public holidays in 2026. When one falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, many people font le pont ("make the bridge"), taking the day in between to create a long weekend.
• A real break at lunch. The law requires a break of at least 20 minutes after six hours of work, and lunch between two work periods counts as a break. Lunch is often a proper meal rather than a sandwich at the desk (see the topic on meals and dining).

Rules set by law and by collective agreements

Much of working life is framed by the Labour Code and by collective agreements (conventions collectives) for each sector. The 35-hour week is the reference for overtime, not a cap: the legal maximum is 10 hours a day and 48 hours in a single week, or 44 hours on average over 12 weeks. Collective agreements often add rules on working time, leave and pay.

Public holidays are not all automatic days off

Only 1 May is compulsorily a paid day off for all employees. Whether the other public holidays are days off depends on the collective agreement, a company agreement or, failing that, the employer. Where they are days off, employees with at least three months' service keep their pay.

The right to disconnect

Since the 2016 labour law, the Labour Code recognises an employee's right not to connect to work digital tools outside working hours (droit à la déconnexion). Companies with union representation must negotiate how it applies, and failing an agreement the employer draws up a charter. In March 2026 the Cour de cassation ruled that there is no breach when an employee chooses to log in on their own initiative and is not required to answer.

Formality at work

An etiquette guide in The Connexion advises using vous by default with colleagues you do not know well and switching to tu only by mutual agreement. In practice, habits vary a lot between companies and teams (see the topic on greetings).

• Sector and contract. Working time and leave depend on your contract and collective agreement. Jobs in health, transport, hospitality and retail often involve shifts, evenings, Sundays or public holidays.
• Company culture. Workplaces differ in their habits on hours, lunch, remote work and how quickly colleagues use tu. Watch how your team does things and ask when in doubt.
• Self-employed people set their own hours and have no paid leave from an employer; the employee protections above do not apply.
• Alsace-Moselle has two extra public holidays (Good Friday and 26 December).