Faire le pont

May is an interesting month in France. There are three pubic holidays, meaning French workers can get three days off - or up to six, depending on how their employers decide to faire le pont.

Meaning 'make the bridge', faire le pont is a figurative expression which refers to the practice of 'bridging' a public holiday and a weekend to form an extended break from work. It usually happens when a public holiday falls on a Tuesday (in which case workers will get the Monday off) or a Thursday (in which case works get the Friday off). If it falls on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, no extra days are given, meaning workers are at the mercy of the French calendar for any given year. Some years they can get up to six days off, on others none at all. In 2026, there are two holidays which fall on a Thursday (New Year's Day, 1 January, and the Ascension, 14 May), while Bastille Day (14 July) falls on a Tuesday, meaning there are three days in total in which workers may be given the opportunity to faire le pont.

Of course, workers are also at the mercy of their employers. Employers aren't legally obliged to faire le pont when a public holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, although they often do. Indeed, employers aren't in fact required by law to grant any public holidays, with the exception of Le Premier Mai.

Schools usually partake in the practice, too, although students will often have to make up for the extra day off by coming in to school on a Saturday or a Wednesday (which younger students normally have as a day off).

Other holidays, such as Easter Monday (Lundi de Pâques) or Whit Monday (Lundi de Pentecôte), are moveable, meaning they occur on a specific day of the week rather than a fixed date. As such, faire le pont does not apply to them, although employers will often give employees the day off after the Ascension (Jeudi de l’Ascension), which always occurs on a Thursday.