Vacation nation: Preparing for a French summer holiday

To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Cover image: File photo: People sunbathe in Biarritz's beach, southwestern France, Friday, June 16, 2023. © Bob Edme, AP 06:30 Issued on: 23/07/2026 - 14:58 From the show With a minimum of 30 days of paid leave per year, French people have the reputation of being on vacation all the time. During the summer months of July and August, the country virtually shuts down. So what's behind this phenomenon? And what do they do with all those cherished "congés payés"? We take a closer look.