When do the clocks change in France this year?

"The first of 2026's biannual changing of the clocks takes place on the weekend of March 28th and 29th in France and across the whole of the European Union (plus the UK). Clocks officially go forward one hour at 2am (France time) on Sunday, March 29th, meaning that the hour between 2am and 3am disappears into the ether for the summer."

"In recent years, repeated efforts have been made to end the twice-yearly dash round the house changing the time on alarm clocks, cookers, and microwave ovens - but while EU member states now agree that the hour change should be scrapped, finding agreement on which time zone to stick with has proved more difficult."

"In 2019, the French National Assembly organised an online survey on whether French people were in favour of ending time changes. Out of two million responses, some 83.7 percent said they were in favour of ending daylight saving time, while more than 60 percent said they had 'negative or very negative experience(s)' with the change."

In early March, clocks in the USA and Canada move forward an hour, while Europeans consider this premature. The EU, including France, will change clocks on March 28th and 29th, losing an hour of sleep. Efforts to end the biannual clock changes have been made, but consensus on a permanent time zone remains elusive. Most electronic devices now update automatically, but the time change can disrupt biological clocks. A 2019 survey showed 83.7% of French respondents favored ending daylight saving time, with over 60% reporting negative experiences with the change.

Read at The Local France