In 2026, millions of French students will miss out on public holidays due to their placement within school vacation periods. Specifically, students in Zone A will lose the public holiday of Easter Monday, April 6, 2026, as it falls directly within their school break. Similarly, students in Zone C will not benefit from the May 1st Labor Day holiday on Friday, May 1, 2026, as they will also be on vacation. This situation arises because the French school calendar, designed to ensure 36 weeks of class with alternating seven-week study and two-week holiday periods, does not include a mechanism for compensating public holidays that coincide with school breaks. This imbalance, while not unprecedented, means these students will not experience the extended weekends typically associated with these holidays.