January
New Year’s Day: The first public holiday of 2025 takes place on the first day of 2025. It’s a pretty decent year for employees in France in terms of additional days off. Only one national public holiday in 2025 falls on a weekend (Toussaint on Saturday, November 1st) – while there are three in May on a Thursday, allowing for lots of lovely bridging days. And that’s still not counting the extra days those lucky folks living in the départements that make up the former Alsace-Lorraine region get.
How to make the most of public holidays in France in 2025
Travel ID: Anyone using public transport in France will have to carry proof of their address from January 2025, in case of inspection by transport officials as authorities clamp down on ticket fraud. Under current rules, passengers must be able to produce ID enabling officials to check that the name on their ticket matches their identity. From January, the requirement extends to include postal addresses. More information is available here.
Holiday rentals: Starting on January 1st a tough new law imposes various restrictions on people renting out short-term tourist rental properties in France. This includes people renting out their home for a few weeks of the year on Airbnb, second-home owners who rent out their home on a short-term basis or anyone running a Gîte or holiday met business - full details here.
Forest fires: Starting on January 1st 2025, people looking to sell or rent property in areas susceptible to wildfires in France will have a legal obligation to inform would-be buyers and renters of prevention requirements from the very start of the transaction. Prospective tenants and buyers will need to be informed whether the property is subject to forest fire prevention requirements, or obligations légales de débroussaillement, "at each stage" of the sale or rental process. More information here.
Low-emission zones expanded: One for drivers; from January 1st, there will be 30 additional low-emission zones, known as zones à faibles émissions (ZFE). When driving in these areas, it is necessary to display the vehicle emissions sticker known as Crit'Air, which shows how polluting it is on a scale of 0 the least polluting to 5. There will also be stricter rules in Paris, Lyon, Grenoble and Montpellier. More information here.
Motorcycles and scooters: Starting on January 1st, two-wheeled vehicles will no longer be allowed to move between the lines of cars during traffic jams. A three-year trial in 21 French départements - including the Paris region, Lyon, Marseille and Bordeaux - allowed bikes to weave in and out of traffic during heavy traffic periods. However after 'disappointing' results in safety trials, the practice will once again be illegal across France in 2025.
READ ALSO What changes for drivers in France in 2025
Stamps: Another one for January 1st. The cost of posting a letter or parcel in France will go up by an average of 6.8 percent. A lettre verte, promising delivery in three days, will cost €1.39, compared to €1.29 in 2024. More details here.
Paris car ban: Owners of older vehicles will no longer be permitted to drive in Paris or the capital's inner suburbs for most of the week from January 1st, 2025, as a repeatedly delayed car ban finally comes into force in the French capital. Don't forget that the 'car ban' in the central four arrondissements of the capital is already in effect (although this one has a lot of exemptions).
Paris public transport: Wide ranging changes to the prices for public transport tickets in and around Paris are expected to effect from January 2nd, 2025, following an announcement by head of the Paris region and leader of Ile-de-France Mobilités, Valérie Pécresse.
Pensions: Some 17 million pensioners in France will see their state pensions rise by an estimated 0.9 percent on January 1st, with another small increase planned for the least well-off pencilled in for July 1st.
Winter sales: Bargain hunters assemble. The winter sales begin, across almost all of France, on Wednesday, January 8th, and last until Tuesday, February 4th. Except – as always – in the border departments of Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, et Vosges – the sales begin on January 2nd and run to January 29th.
UK's ETA visa: from January 8th 2025, non-EU citizens who are travelling to the UK will require the new £10 ETA visa waiver - this would include, for example, Americans, Canadians or New Zealanders living in France. Anyone travelling on a UK passport is exempt, while the introduction date for EU citizens is April. Full details here.
New flight routes: Throughout 2025 dozens of new flight routes to and from France will be launched - here's the list.
February
Electricity bills: Potentially bad news, we’re afraid. An expected and widely reported reduction in electricity bills from recent highs on February 1st, 2025, might not go ahead after all, because the government is considering increasing the final consumption tax on electricity (TICPE) by a greater amount than expected as part of its budget plans.
Livret A: More potential bad news. After 18 months at three percent, the consensus of opinion is that the interest rate on France’s popular Livret A savings plan will fall when it is re-evaluated. The new rate – up or down – will take effect on February 1st.
Germany votes: French politicians and political experts will be watching events in neighbouring Germany closely, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz called an election for February 23rd, following the collapse of the coalition between the Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals.
Road tolls - As they do each year, prices will increase for tolls on French autoroutes. From February, prices will go up on average by 0.9 percent, the French ministry of transport announced although there are variations between different routes.
March
Round the world: After setting off from Sables-d’Olonne in November, competitors in the Vendée Globe yacht race are expected to return to the Pays de la Loire resort in March.
Trêve: The annual winter ‘truce’, when tenants cannot be evicted from their rented homes for non-payment of rent ends, as it does every year, on March 31st.
EES begins? - The EU's new biometric passport checks known as Entry & Exit System (EES) have been repeatedly delayed and a proposed start date of November 10th 2024 was abandoned over fears of travel chaos. The start date is now only '2025', with off-peak travel times favoured. Once (if) EES is introduced, ETIAS - a €7 visa waiver for non-EU visitors - is expected to follow six months later. Full details of how it all works here.
Le Pen verdict - a court is scheduled to issue its ruling on March 31st into the embezzlement case of Marine Le Pen and other senior Rassemblement National figures. If found guilty, she faced a five-year ban from public office - which would prevent her from running for president in 2027.
Secure prescriptions - From March 2025, medication containing codeine or tramadol can only be prescribed in France for limited periods via the 'secure prescription' service. Initially scheduled for December 1st 2024 and then pushed back to March, secure prescriptions (ordonnance sécurisée) will be required for any medication containing tramadol or codeine.
It's worth remembering that in December 2024 France banned the sale of certain common over-the-counter cold and flu remedies, due to safety concerns.
April
Tax: The online platform for income tax declarations in France opens this month.
Rail disruption: No passenger trains will run from 9.30am and 5.30pm daily between Paris and Orléans from April 2025 until February 2026, for upgrade works on the line. Services will be replaced by buses.
UK ETA visa, part 2 - from April 2nd, the UK's £10 ETA visa waiver is extended to all EU citizens. Non-EU citizens will need one from January so from April 2nd onwards only people travelling on UK or Irish passports are exempt from this requirement.
Easter: In 2025, Easter falls towards the end of April. Good Friday – for those who celebrate in north-east France – is on April 18th. Easter Monday, a public holiday across the country, is on April 21st, beginning the annual run of five public holidays in a matter of weeks.
May
Public holidays: May has three of them – all on different Thursdays. May 1st and May 8th are always holidays - marking May Day and VE Day respectively, while this year Ascension is on Thursday, May 29th.
On May 1st expect to see large trades union parades in the bigger towns and cities.
Kitschtastic: Eurovision 2025 is in Switzerland, with the semi-finals in Basel set for May 13th and May 15th, with the grand event on Saturday, May 17th.
June
And another public holiday: June 9th – a Monday – is Pentecost, the French public holiday that sometimes isn’t…
READ ALSO Why do many in France work for free on Pentecost public holiday?
Féte de la musique: Streets across France will be alive with the sound of it on the Fête de la musique on Saturday, June 21st.
Summer bargains: France’s summer sales period runs from Wednesday, June 25th, until Tuesday, July 22nd.
July
School’s out: The summer holidays officially begin for all students in France on Saturday, July 5th – or, more accurately, for most pupils at the end of classes on Friday, July 4th.
Tour de France: The 2025 Tour begins in northern France, with a 185km ride around Lille. The peloton travels 3,320km across the country, taking in mountains and time trials, and long, flat runs, before ending – as is traditional – on the Champs-Elysées, on July 27th.
Fête nationale: France’s national holiday on July 14th falls on a Monday this year and will be marked, as usual, with military parades, fireworks and the famous firemen’s balls.
Tax notices: Income tax notices should drop into your letter box around the end of the month.
Cruise ships: The mayor of Nice has announced plans to ban (from July 2025) large cruise ships, with hopes of decreasing over-tourism and environmental issues. These include ships with a capacity for more than 900 passengers, which are over 190 metres in length.
READ MORE: Is France moving towards a ban on cruise ships?
Elections? We're not saying that this will happen, but if Emmanuel Macron decided that he wanted to call fresh legislative elections to try and break the parliamentary deadlock, the earliest that could happen is July 2025 - one year after the last ones.
Whether he will or not is very much another question - as things stand, current MPs remain in office until 2029 and Macron himself remains president until 2027. If he does decide to call one, political analysts consider it is more likely to happen in the autumn than over the summer when many people are away on holiday.
August
Holidays: Not really a change, more a reminder of how things are in France… especially if you need to contact a public official, when the best you can probably expect is an out-of-office reply to your email. And this year, there are no Olympic and Paralympic Games to distract you while you wait…
September
Rentrée: Pupils return for the new school year on Monday, September 1st. In France ‘la rentrée’ is more than ‘back to school’, it’s also ‘back to work’ for many high-level government officials after their summer holidays.
Tax changes: From September 1, 2025, married and couples in civil partnership will automatically be taxed at source at an individualised rate, unless they jointly opt for their household’s rate.
Pompidou Centre closes - Paris' Pompidou Centre closes in September (exact date TBC) for a major refurbishment. It is not expected to reopen until 2030, so take your opportunity to visit while you can.
October
Property tax bills: if you own property, tax bills will start to arrive in October. If you completed the new property tax declaration in 2023 there is no need to do it again – but if your situation has changed (for example, if you have bought or sold property or turned a second home into a main residence) you will need to complete the declaration online.
Political advertising: Google will stop serving political ads in the European Union by October 2025, in response to new transparency rules imposed by the EU. The move will have implications for election campaigns, advertisers and content strategies.
November
Winter truce: The trêve hivernale starts on November 1st. During this time, landlords cannot evict tenants who are in rent arrears, likewise utility companies cannot cut off gas or electricity.
Twin holidays: November also has two public holidays – Toussaint (All Saints’ Day) on November 1st and Armistice Day on November 11th. This year Toussaint is a 'lost' holiday, falling on a Saturday, while November 11th is a Tuesday.
ETIAS? - if the introduction of EES does happen in the early part of 2025 (and don't hold your breath) then we would be looking at an autumn start date for the ETIAS section. This wouldn't affect foreigners living in France, but any non-EU citizens wishing to visit France, even for a short holiday or family visit, would require the €7 visa waiver, which must be arranged in advance. Full details here.
December
Christmas Day: Is on a Thursday this year...
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