Germany vs France :
Annual Leave Compared
The two biggest EU labour markets: 20-day floor vs 25, and a culture of bridges that genuinely closes shop.
Statutory minimums, public holiday counts, take-up rates, and live efficiency for 2027.
Side-by-side
| Metric | Germany | France |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory minimum leave | 20 days 20 days minimum under the BUrlG (assuming a 5-day week). Collective agreements typically push this to 27-30 days. | 25 daysHigher 5 weeks (25 working days, or 30 working days if Saturday counts) under Code du travail. Many workers also bank RTT days from 35-hour-week reductions. |
| Public holidays / year | 11 9 federal + 2-4 state-specific holidays. Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg observe the most (~13). | 11 11 jours fériés. Only May 1 is mandatorily paid and non-working; the rest depend on collective agreement. |
| Typical leave take-up | 92%Higher Germans take nearly all of their leave; Eurostat and Statista surveys consistently put unused-leave averages at <2 days. | 90% INSEE and Eurofound data show French workers take nearly all of their congés payés; bridging ("faire le pont") is institutionalised. |
| Carry-over rules | Leave must be taken in the calendar year; carry-over to Q1 of the following year is permitted only on operational or personal grounds. | Leave generally must be taken within the reference period (June 1 – May 31). Some sectors allow up to a year of carry-over by agreement. |
| Cultural notes | Two-week summer block (Sommerurlaub) and a Christmas-New Year shutdown are common in office and industrial workplaces alike. · Strict separation of work and rest — out-of-office responses are usually firm and unanswered email is normalised. | August shutdown is a national norm — Paris empties out, and many small businesses close for 2-3 weeks. · "Faire le pont" — when a holiday falls on Tuesday or Thursday, taking the bridge day is the cultural default, not the exception. |
Sources for Germany: BMAS — Bundesurlaubsgesetz (BUrlG); Eurostat — Annual leave entitlement (2024); KMK / state government holiday calendars. Sources for France: Code du travail, Art. L3141-3 (congés payés); INSEE — Working time and leave (2024); Eurofound — Working time in the European Union. Figures reviewed 2026-05; refresh annually as legislation evolves.
Live efficiency for 2027
Computed from the actual 2027 public-holiday calendar for each country. Higher efficiency = more holidays falling on weekdays and more long weekends per holiday.
Germany
- Public holidays
- 19
- Fall on a weekday
- 11
- Free long weekends
- 6
- Bridge opportunities
- 2
8 holidays fall on a weekend in 2027.
France
- Public holidays
- 11
- Fall on a weekday
- 7
- Free long weekends
- 4
- Bridge opportunities
- 2
4 holidays fall on a weekend in 2027.
Holiday data from Nager.Date, refreshed daily. The efficiency score weights weekday holidays at 60% and long-weekend formation at 40%.
The verdict
If you optimize aggressively: France wins on raw potential — 25 statutory days plus institutionalised "faire le pont" bridging plus RTT days for many workers stacks above the German 20-day floor.
If you're moving for work-life balance: For work-life balance both are strong. Germany has stricter daily separation; France has the August shutdown that genuinely turns off the country. Either is a win for sustainable rest.