Is there a 4-day week in France?
Not nationally. France's legal working week for full-time private-sector employees is 35 hours, and no law gives workers a 4-day week. The main trial is a voluntary experiment run by the organisation 4jours.work, with emlyon business school evaluating it. About twenty organisations took part in its first phase, in about thirty different formats. A second phase began in February 2026, and no results have been published.
Public employers have tested compressed weeks instead. In 2024 the government announced an experiment for State services in which agents could work four days while still completing 1,607 hours a year. Its first review was planned for summer 2025, and we found no published result. A union study of 18 local authorities reached the same conclusion: the four-day week there cannot come with a cut in working time. That is the same hours in fewer days, not a shorter week.
A Senate bill filed on 31 August 2026 would cut employer social contributions for firms that agree a collective week of at most 32 hours over four days. It is at first reading.
Latest developments
Senator Poncet Monge files bill for a 32-hour, 4-day working week
Senator Raymonde Poncet Monge and colleagues filed bill no. 938 (2025-2026) in the Senate on 31 August 2026, to reduce weekly working time to 32 hours over 4 days. It is at first reading in the Senate.
Sénat: Proposition de loi n° 938 (2025-2026), réduire le temps de travail hebdomadaire à 32 heures en 4 jours (opens in new tab)Second phase of the French 4-day-week experiment begins
4jours.work launched a second phase of its French 4-day-week experiment in February 2026, with emlyon business school doing the research. Applications were open from 1 March to 30 June 2026, with the aim of doubling the number of participating companies.
Carenews: Semaine de 4 jours, une expérimentation pour mesurer son impact sur les entreprises (opens in new tab)Study of 18 local authorities: 4-day weeks keep the same annual hours
A union study, mainly of 18 authorities that tested the four-day week, found agents mostly in favour. It says the 1,607-hour annual total stays, so the week cannot come with a cut in working time.
Acteurs Publics: Semaine en 4 jours, une formule encore instable pour les collectivités (opens in new tab)
4-day-week trials in France
What each pilot reported. Figures are the organiser's own, from the linked report.
French 4-day-week experiment (4jours.work)
Run by 4jours.work; research by emlyon business school
- 20 companies
About twenty organisations (companies, associations, cooperatives) in the first phase, using about thirty different formats. A second phase began in February 2026, aiming to double participation. emlyon will assess well-being, productivity, turnover and environmental impact; no results had been published in the latest coverage found (June 2026).
Novethic: Semaine de quatre jours: la democratisation de l'IA dans les entreprises rebat les cartes (16 Mar 2026) (opens in new tab)Jobs in France
ADV Assistant
Lunii · Hybrid · Paris, France
4 Day Work Week
Technical Support Engineer
XWiki · Remote · France
Rotating 4 Day WeekWeb Developer - Client Projects Team
XWiki · Remote · France
Rotating 4 Day WeekPhD Software Engineer - Product Team
XWiki · Remote · France
Rotating 4 Day Week
Who offers a 4-day week in France
Cycloid
Cycloid is a platform engineering solutions provider offering hybrid cloud and DevOps tools, with a 100% remote team across Europe and a 4-day workweek.
Thales
Global technology leader in aerospace, defense, and security, creating safer, greener, and more inclusive solutions across 68 countries with 80,000+ employees.
Lunii
French maker of screen-free audio storytelling devices for children, on a company-wide 4-day week (Fridays off) at full salary.
Getaround
Europe's leading peer-to-peer carsharing platform. Paris-based, ~290 staff. Optional 4-day week at 80% salary (or 3 days at 60%) is established employee practice; ~3 remote days/week as standard for Paris-based staff.
Findymail
B2B email verification platform offering accurate prospecting data with a 4-day work week and remote flexibility across Europe.
PDFShift
API service simplifying PDF generation for developers, championing 4-day work weeks and work-life balance with a fully remote team.
How France compares
France, the labelled dot, against the other countries we cover.
Average weekly hours
12th shortest of 25 countries, 0.4 hours below the median of 37.3.
Netherlands 31.3 to South Africa 42.3
See all 25 countries
| Country | Hours |
|---|---|
| Netherlands | 31.3 |
| Denmark | 33.3 |
| Germany | 34.5 |
| Norway | 34.6 |
| Australia | 35.4 |
| Austria | 35.6 |
| Finland | 35.6 |
| Switzerland | 35.7 |
| Belgium | 36.0 |
| Ireland | 36.0 |
| United Kingdom | 36.3 |
| France | 36.9 |
| Sweden | 37.3 |
| Iceland | 37.4 |
| Japan | 37.5 |
| Spain | 37.5 |
| New Zealand | 37.6 |
| United States | 38.2 |
| Lithuania | 39.0 |
| South Korea | 39.4 |
| Brazil | 39.5 |
| Chile | 39.8 |
| Poland | 39.9 |
| Portugal | 40.0 |
| South Africa | 42.3 |
Usual weekly hours on the main job, all employed people, from the OECD (latest year, 2024 or 2025). It includes part-timers. No comparable figure for: Canada, Philippines, United Arab Emirates.
Statutory paid leave
Joint 2nd longest of 26 countries, 5 days above the median of 20.
United Kingdom 28 to United States None
See all 26 countries
| Country | Days |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 28 |
| Austria | 25 |
| Denmark | 25 |
| Finland | 25 |
| France | 25 |
| Sweden | 25 |
| Iceland | 24 |
| Brazil | 22 |
| Portugal | 22 |
| Spain | 22 |
| Norway | 21 |
| Australia | 20 |
| Belgium | 20 |
| Germany | 20 |
| Ireland | 20 |
| Netherlands | 20 |
| New Zealand | 20 |
| Poland | 20 |
| Switzerland | 20 |
| Chile | 15 |
| South Africa | 15 |
| South Korea | 15 |
| Canada | 10 |
| Japan | 10 |
| Philippines | 5 |
| United States | None |
The legal minimum a year, in working days on a five-day week, before public holidays. Definitions differ: some countries set weeks or calendar days (converted here), the UK lets public holidays count and the United States has no national minimum. Each country page says what its number covers. No comparable figure for: Lithuania, United Arab Emirates.
Working in France
Working hours
The legal working time for full-time private-sector employees is 35 hours a week, or 1,607 hours a year. Hours above it count as overtime, and a collective agreement may set a different weekly duration. A working day may not exceed 10 hours of effective work, and the week may not exceed 48 hours, or 44 hours on average over 12 consecutive weeks. Full-time employees usually work 38.8 hours a week (Eurostat, 2025).
Paid leave and holidays
Employees earn 2.5 working days (jours ouvrables) of paid leave per month of work, which makes 30 jours ouvrables, or five weeks, a year. Counted Monday to Friday, that is 25 days.
Remote work
In 2025, 31.4% of employees aged 15 to 64 worked from home usually (8.2%) or sometimes (23.2%), according to Eurostat.