#public-holidays

#public-holidays

French words have distinct meanings regarding workdays and holidays. 'Jour chômé' designates non-working days, unlike 'jour férié,' which refers specifically to public holidays.

With the arrival of May, France will observe three public holidays: May Day on the 1st, VE Day on the 8th, and Ascension on the 29th, creating a significant cultural moment.

Good Friday is not a public holiday in most parts of France, an outlier compared to other European nations, but one region observes it due to historical ties.

"Denmark carried out a much more extensive reduction of public holidays in connection with the Reformation," Goran Malmstedt, a history professor at Gothenburg University, told The Local. "In Denmark, the king decided in 1537 that only 16 of the many medieval public holidays would be preserved, while in Sweden almost twice as many public holidays were retained through the decision in the Church Order of 1571."

The Sud-Rail union's strike notice covers weekends from April 17th to June 2nd, potentially disrupting travel over Easter and May public holidays.

April 1st is also Easter Monday, a bank holiday in France, allowing workers to enjoy a day off while engaging in the playful tradition of 'Poisson d'avril'.

I'm not sure that we necessarily want to celebrate the people. I think that we want to have a certain respect for the office... But by celebrating all of them, I do think it causes us to think of the president as somehow other, when in reality they are a citizen just like everyone else.