France

There are eleven public holidays in France, which apply to all of France, including the overseas departments. There are also public holidays that only apply to the Alsace region (Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin departments) and parts of the Lorraine region (Moselle department). The overseas departments and overseas regions (Département d'outre mer et région d'outre-mer, abbr. DOM-ROM) are parts of the French Republic that lie outside France métropolitaine, the European motherland. They are former colonies that became Départements d'outre-mer after World War II.

Political holidays are commemoration days. They are intended to commemorate political, national and historical events in the history of a country. Furthermore, the public holidays are used specifically as instruments of remembrance politics in order to strengthen the systemic basis of legitimacy and to convey central political ideas.

All cultures and nations celebrate specific events of religious importance on specific dates throughout the year. These are particularly protected by the legal systems of the individual states. Originally public holidays could not be separated according to political or religious relevance.