Macron Proposes Revisiting School Vacation Lengths in France

The French president suggests shorter holidays to ease weekly schedules, drawing criticism from teachers' unions focused on systemic education challenges.

Emmanuel Macron has proposed reevaluating the length of school vacations in France, citing the need to reduce weekly pressures and improve learning outcomes.
France currently offers students 16 weeks of annual vacation, longer than the 14-week average in OECD countries, though summer breaks are shorter than in many European nations.
Teachers' unions, including the Snes-FSU, have criticized Macron's remarks, accusing him of deflecting attention from urgent issues like teacher shortages and poor working conditions.
Education Minister Élisabeth Borne has previously supported reducing summer vacations, arguing that long breaks disproportionately affect struggling students' academic progress.
Critics also highlight that France's school calendar is often influenced by tourism priorities rather than the educational needs of students and teachers.