La Rentrée- It's a big deal in France

If it wasn't already evident from the back-to-school advertisements, August has somehow crept upon on us once again. School, for better or worse, lies right around the corner for kids and young adults all across America. 

La rentrée scolaire

The French, however, have an entirely different concept of "back-to-school." In France, what is called "la rentrée" applies to not only students but to all citizens, as the beginning of September marks the end of many adults' holidays as well. Restaurants re-open, television and radio programs change their programming, and novelists unveil their new works. There's an excitement and optimism in the air marked by the convening of some many beginnings at once- c'est la rentrée!
 
The dramatic commencement of the new work and school year is the result of several policies implemented by the French. The French school year begins nationwide for all schools at the beginning of September. This year, fittingly, schools will open the 1st of September. The French have a more nationalized school program than what we have in the USA, making la rentrée truly a more concentrated and significant event than our "back to school" season. The program is so nationalized that there is even an official French list of school supplies that all students must have!

"There we go! I don't we've forgotten anything."
"Yeah we did! A giant backpack to carry all of that!"

For adults in France, la rentrée holds major significance as well because labor laws make August a favored vacation month for the French. In France, the minimum work week is 35 hours, and all workers receive two and a half days of paid leave per month worked. For some odd reason, Saturdays are factored into this calculation, and all French workers are left with five full weeks of paid leave throughout the year (wouldn't that be lovely...).

One would imagine the French 35-hour work week looks a little like this

Another aspect of French labor law states that one of these five weeks of vacation must be taken separately from the main school holidays (the Toussaint in mid-fall, Christmas, the winter holiday in February, and the spring holiday in mid-April). This law, in combination with French tradition, leads many workers to take long vacations in the month of August.

As a result, August has become somewhat of sacred month in France. Millions of French northerners flee towards the southern beaches in August, leaving their jobs behind. Paris in particular feels empty in August due to the sheer number of shops and restaurants that close down due to the August tradition.

Parisian roads get very congested in the month of August as people
flee the city for the south.

Once September rolls around, however, you can be assured that everything in France will return to business as usual.