Number of working days in 2026

Updated for 2026.

In 2026, France has 252 working days, 303 business days and 11 public holidays. For an employee on a 35-hour week with 25 days of paid leave, this means around 227 days worked in the year.

These figures are the basis for calculating your payroll, your social security returns and leave entitlements. You will find them in your payslips, your monthly social security return (DSN) and your company agreements on working time reduction (RTT). A counting error translates directly into an incorrect payslip or a late return.

Key figures for 2026 at a glance

2026 indicator — Value — Quick definition

Working days (jours ouvrés) — 252 — Monday to Friday, excluding weekday public holidays

Business days (jours ouvrables) — 303 — Monday to Saturday, excluding weekday public holidays

Statutory public holidays — 11 — Of which 9 fall on a weekday in 2026

Days worked (35h, 25 days' paid leave) — ~227 — Working days minus paid leave

Calendar days — 365 — Total days in the year

Source: official calendar and public holidays under the French Labour Code, consolidated on service-public.fr.

Working days, business days, calendar days: the definitions

Confusing these three concepts is the leading cause of payroll errors. Each has a precise legal definition.

Working days (Monday to Friday)

A working day (jour ouvré) is a day actually worked in the company. By convention, it runs from Monday to Friday, i.e. five days a week. It is the unit most commonly used for payroll and invoicing.

Business days (Monday to Saturday)

A business day (jour ouvrable) is a day on which the company is allowed to open under the Labour Code. The business week has six days, from Monday to Saturday inclusive, even if your company is closed on Saturdays. Paid leave is legally counted in business days (see article L3141-3 of the Labour Code).

Calendar days

Calendar days include every day of the week, Sundays and public holidays included. 2026 has 365 calendar days. They are used for notice periods, cooling-off periods and some allowance calculations.

How is the number of working days in 2026 calculated?

The calculation takes three steps:

1. Count the Mondays to Fridays in the year (261 in 2026, before public holidays).

2. Subtract the statutory public holidays that fall on a working day (9 in 2026).

3. The result is 252 working days.

The total number of business days follows the same logic with a six-day week: it comes to 303. These figures vary slightly each year depending on which day of the week the public holidays fall.

Number of working days per month in 2026

Here is the month-by-month breakdown, with the number of public holidays falling on weekdays. This is the table to print out to plan your payroll deadlines.

Month — Working days — Business days — Weekday public holidays — Note

January — 21 — 26 — 1 — New Year's Day (Thursday 1st)

February — 20 — 24 — 0 — Short month (28 days)

March — 22 — 26 — 0 — Full month

April — 21 — 25 — 1 — Easter Monday (6th)

May — 17 — 22 — 4 — Shortest month of the year

June — 22 — 26 — 0 — Full month

July — 22 — 26 — 1 — Bastille Day (Tuesday 14th)

August — 21 — 25 — 0 — Assumption Day on a Saturday

September — 22 — 26 — 0 — Full month

October — 22 — 27 — 0 — Month with 5 Saturdays

November — 20 — 24 — 1 — Armistice Day (Wednesday 11th)

December — 22 — 26 — 1 — Christmas Day (Friday 25th)

Total 2026 — 252 — 303 — 9

May 2026 has only 17 working days. It is the shortest month of the year: four public holidays fall on weekdays (the 1st, 8th, 14th and Whit Monday on the 25th). Plan ahead for this month, as it is full of long weekends and disrupts organisation.

The 11 public holidays in 2026

Here are the statutory public holidays for 2026, with their status as working and business days. A public holiday that falls on a Saturday or Sunday has no direct impact on your payroll.

Date — Day — Public holiday — Working day? — Business day?

1 January — Thursday — New Year's Day — Yes — Yes

6 April — Monday — Easter Monday — Yes — Yes

1 May — Friday — Labour Day — Yes — Yes

8 May — Friday — Victory in Europe Day 1945 — Yes — Yes

14 May — Thursday — Ascension Day — Yes — Yes

25 May — Monday — Whit Monday — Yes — Yes

14 July — Tuesday — Bastille Day — Yes — Yes

15 August — Saturday — Assumption Day — No — Yes

1 November — Sunday — All Saints' Day — No — No

11 November — Wednesday — Armistice Day 1918 — Yes — Yes

25 December — Friday — Christmas Day — Yes — Yes

Nine public holidays fall on weekdays in 2026. Assumption Day falls on a Saturday and All Saints' Day on a Sunday: they do not affect your working days.

2026 annual days package: how many RTT days should be taken?

The annual days package (forfait jours) is for managers and employees who do not work collective hours. The employee works a number of days set by agreement, generally 218 days a year.

Calculating the rest days to be granted in 2026:

• Working days in 2026: 252

• Minus paid leave (25 working days): 227 theoretical days worked

• Minus the contractual package (218 days): 9 package rest days to be granted

If your agreement provides for 218 days, you grant around 9 additional rest days in 2026. This number varies according to the agreement (216, 217, 218 or 219 depending on the agreement). The law on annual days packages requires annual monitoring of the days worked.

What these figures mean for your payroll and DSN

The number of working days affects your payslips, your deadlines and your social security returns.

Short months to plan for (payroll, transfers, DSN)

A month like May 2026, with 17 working days, shortens processing time. Your deadlines, however, do not move:

• The monthly DSN is still due on the 5th or 15th of the following month, depending on your URSSAF schedule.

• Salary transfers must follow the frequency set out in the contract (often the end of the month).

• The May long weekends (Ascension Day, Whit Monday) shift processing days: prepare payslips before the long weekends to avoid late transfers.

A short month does not reduce basic salary, but it can affect bonuses calculated on actual days, overtime and paid leave allowances counted in working days.

Public holidays and pay

1 May is the only public holiday that is legally a paid day off for everyone (Labour Code). For the other ten, whether they are days off and whether pay is maintained depends on your collective agreement and your company agreement. Many agreements provide for pay to be maintained subject to length of service: check yours before preparing the payslip.

RTT, paid leave and counting in working vs business days

The classic confusion concerns how paid leave is counted. The Labour Code counts in business days (Monday to Saturday), at a rate of 2.5 days per month worked, i.e. 30 business days of leave a year. If your company counts in working days (Monday to Friday), the total becomes 25 days.

Using the wrong method inflates or reduces the employee's entitlement. It is one of the most common sources of employment tribunal disputes. Payslips and leave counters must be based on a single method, set by company agreement.

GME Audit runs your payroll and social security returns. Payslips, employment contracts, DSN, leave and RTT tracking: we meet your deadlines every month. To work with a chartered accountant to manage your payroll and social security returns, ask us for a quote.

Alsace-Moselle in 2026

Alsace-Moselle (Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Moselle) has two extra public holidays under local law:

• Good Friday (Friday 3 April 2026), two days before Easter.

• 26 December (Saturday 26 December 2026), the day after Christmas.

These two days are added to the 11 national public holidays, making 13 in total in these three départements. Good Friday 2026 falls on a Friday: it removes one working day from April for the companies concerned. This applies to employees working in these départements.

Frequently asked questions

How many working days are there in 2026?

France has 252 working days (Monday to Friday, excluding weekday public holidays) and 303 business days (Monday to Saturday, excluding weekday public holidays).

What is the difference between working days and business days?

Working days cover Monday to Friday (5 days a week). Business days cover Monday to Saturday (6 days), even if the company is closed on Saturdays. Paid leave is legally counted in business days.

How many public holidays are there in 2026?

There are 11 statutory public holidays in 2026, of which 9 fall on a weekday. Assumption Day falls on a Saturday and All Saints' Day on a Sunday. Alsace-Moselle adds two more (Good Friday and 26 December).

How many days are worked in 2026 on an annual days package?

An employee on a 218-day package, with 25 days of paid leave, works around 218 days in 2026. Out of 227 theoretical days worked (252 working days minus 25 days' paid leave), they have around 9 package rest days to take.

How many working days are there in Alsace-Moselle in 2026?

Alsace-Moselle has two extra public holidays (Good Friday on 3 April and 26 December). In 2026, only Good Friday falls on a weekday: the companies concerned have 251 working days instead of 252.

Request a quote

Working days, annual days packages, paid leave, the DSN: every figure translates directly onto your payslips. A counting error costs more than getting the right support.

GME Audit, a firm led by Steeve Elharrar, chartered accountant and statutory auditor (formerly with KPMG and Deloitte), runs your payroll, your contracts and your social security returns. We meet your monthly deadlines and respond quickly, all year round.

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