Fermeture Estivale

Introduction

Going into August, France (like many countries in Europe) is known for basically taking the entire month off for vacation. 

While this is definitely true for small businesses and shops in Paris, it's not exactly the case for large companies. There usually is some type of office closure, but it's not for everyone and it's not for the whole month.

Summertime

Paris is stereotypically closed during August. In fact, Lauren Collins at Lettre Recommandée recently shared a fantastic list of "out of office" signs posted by local shops. Indeed, if you work at an international company with operations in France, you are certain to see a large number of automatic replies during this time of year, similar to May.

That being said, it's not like the whole office is literally closed for the month...right?

Out of Office

Actually, yes - it's not uncommon for the whole office to actually, physically close for a period of time during the summer. This is called « fermeture estivale » and it's mandated by HR. The rationale being that employees in France receive a generous vacation balance, and un-used vacation days are a liability for the company. So this is a way to ensure that employees consume enough vacation days, and also to synchronize. Better to be physically closed for 2 weeks, just like all of your suppliers and customers, than open at 50% capacity. Also, this prevents employees (without schoolchildren) from taking vacation during la rentrée in September when companies are back to operating at full steam.

However, it's usually not for the whole month: normally the office closure is a 2-week period that overlaps with the bank holiday on August 15th. For example in 2025, most likely the France office of your company will have a mandated closure from COB Friday, August 8th until Monday, August 22nd.

Also, depending on the company, this office closure may only apply to full-time employees (since it's primarily driven by vacation days, which are part of the comp package for FTE's). For example, interns who do not receive vacation days may be required to work during the office closure. 

Some companies avoid this issue by structuring their intern cohorts to start in September and January, knowing that the fall and spring cohorts are unequal. Others have two equal cohorts (January-June + July-December), in which case the second cohort needs to work even during the office closure.

Conclusion

Depending on the size and nature of your business, you may need to take into account the fermeture estivale during the month of August. While this does apply to white-collar workers, not just cafés in Paris, it's not as bad as the stereotype!

For more insights about doing business in France, don't hesitate to get in contact.

Au revoir !