French word of the day: Les vacances
Published: 24 July 2025
Well it is a rainy July here in Paris, but no matter because this is the moment when every local flees to a temporary holiday home in the sun! Somewhere with an internet connection and where one can hopefully dip their feet in some body of water. (Because no, the Seine is not what I would call clean.)
It is school summer holidays, so my kids are around and pottering about, the sun is shining and the swimsuit bag is at the ready.
I don’t know if it is the same for other people, but in France it is the summer grand vacances that always feels like the “end of the marathon”, rather than December 31st. And no, I don’t just mean because I have kids and it is end of the school year, it felt that way even before we had kids.
Around town, just about everything has come to a halt, neighborhood construction projects, extra-curricular activities, government offices with reduced hours, etc. Even our local library and the boulanger (baker) have taken a month off in the summer.
Another sign that it is the year end: the politicians all go on holiday, and tv journalists leave their jobs in July to come back to a new station “at the rentrée“.
Summer in France really becomes the moment to stop, assess the past year, and change course if necessary. (Diet and exercise regimes here would make a fortune if they timed their offerings with September and not January.)
Yes, in France we really know how to cut off from work. When employees say they are not checking their messages while on holiday, they really do mean that. Not the same for people who run their own business obviously, but even most companies do put their systems on “mission critical outputs” only.
Now before I get too carried away waxing poetically about the slower way of life, I will note that I lived here long enough to realise there are actual economic pressures that have created this summer vacation spirit, rather than just lazily putting it down to “French and European tradition”.
With a tax rate for prélèvements obligatoires of 48% on every € earned, there is a significant disincentive to work more. A large portion, 57% of the population, are a net beneficiaries of the various income-based government aids out there. So individuals make the choice to avoid earning additional income, so that those income-based aids will not be reduced. Yes, it is rather easy to cut off from work as there is not much benefit to working more.)
But economics aside, I will say it is rather great to just “declare defeat” and go with the flow. Christmas and New Year always feels like a mad rush, with all the cooking, trying to get everyone gifts, seeing family, etc. all compressed into 10 days or so. July and August on the other hand, is a more leisurely 6-8 weeks before the grind starts again.
Rather than trying to fight the system, it is just fine to throw your hands up in the air and and kick that complicated project down the road to September, because “everything is going to be closed anyway”.
So time for a glass of rosé in the sun, perhaps?
In other news:
- French President Macron had a state visit to the U.K. to meet King Charles et al, during which even People Magazine wondered about the status of his relationship with Brigitte. But the best comedic clip of their flying luggage wasn’t covered by French media, it was indeed covered by the British.
- Sadly, police in the Tarn area (near Toulouse, south west France) have banned the fête traditionelle where thousands of paper lanterns are lit and allowed to fly away for Bastille day (14 Juillet). Dry conditions mean that the risk of wildfires is too high.
- Great read of an article by the New Yorker on a collection of thousands of World War I photos found in northern France, the brothers who took the photos and their family that kept them for all these years.
In the blog:
Ile-de-Ré: the Holiday island in western France
Explore Ile de Ré, the French holiday island known for its green shutters, sandy beaches, and charming villages.
5 Beautiful villages in Alsace, France
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Provencal salad with olives and feta
This delicious provencal salad includes black olives, cherry tomatoes and feta cheese in a red wine vinegriatte.
Sausage and ravioli in sun-dried tomato pesto sauce
A perfect blend of savory and tangy, this sausage and ravioli pesto makes an easy, delicious meal every day of the week.