France · 2026
Ponts 2026 in FranceThe best bridge days to maximise your time off
Ponts (bridge days) are workdays squeezed between public holidays and weekends. Take those few days as PTO and short gaps become long consecutive breaks. Based on the 11 public holidays in France in 2026, here are the 8 best opportunities.
21
PTO days
54
days off
Taking every bridge day below turns 21 PTO days into 54 consecutive days off across the year.
Jan 1 – Jan 4, 2026
1 PTO day → 4 days off
Built around New Year's Day (Thu, Jan 1).
Take PTO on: Fri, Jan 2
Apr 4 – Apr 12, 2026
4 PTO days → 9 days off
Built around Easter Monday (Mon, Apr 6).
Take PTO on: Tue, Apr 7Wed, Apr 8Thu, Apr 9Fri, Apr 10
May 1 – May 10, 2026
4 PTO days → 10 days off
Built around Labour Day (Fri, May 1) and Victory in Europe Day (Fri, May 8).
Take PTO on: Mon, May 4Tue, May 5Wed, May 6Thu, May 7
May 14 – May 17, 2026
1 PTO day → 4 days off
Built around Ascension Day (Thu, May 14).
Take PTO on: Fri, May 15
May 23 – May 31, 2026
4 PTO days → 9 days off
Built around Whit Monday (Mon, May 25).
Take PTO on: Tue, May 26Wed, May 27Thu, May 28Fri, May 29
Jul 11 – Jul 14, 2026
1 PTO day → 4 days off
Built around Bastille Day (Tue, Jul 14).
Take PTO on: Mon, Jul 13
Nov 7 – Nov 11, 2026
2 PTO days → 5 days off
Built around Armistice Day (Wed, Nov 11).
Take PTO on: Mon, Nov 9Tue, Nov 10
Dec 19 – Dec 27, 2026
4 PTO days → 9 days off
Built around Christmas Day (Fri, Dec 25).
Take PTO on: Mon, Dec 21Tue, Dec 22Wed, Dec 23Thu, Dec 24
Want a plan built around your PTO budget?
The free optimizer combines these bridge days with your available PTO, block days, and on-call periods — and lets you compare six planning strategies.
Optimize My 2026 PTO