Dates and durations · Gaps and business days
Count weekdays, weekends, and French holidays
A business day here is Monday through Friday. Saturday is not a business day. Metropolitan France statutory holidays are optional. The interval is inclusive: start and end count. This is not a US federal-holiday calendar.
Calculate
How the calculator works
Each date in the interval [start, end], bounds included, is classified: weekend (Saturday, Sunday), weekday holiday (if the option is on), or business day. Movable holidays (Easter Monday, Ascension, Whit Monday) depend on Easter, computed with Meeus’s Gregorian algorithm. Fixed holidays are the metropolitan list published for the public (Jan 1, May 1, May 8, July 14, Aug 15, Nov 1, Nov 11, Dec 25). A holiday falling on Sunday is not counted as a “weekday holiday”: it is already in weekends. US federal holidays (MLK Day, Thanksgiving, observed Mondays) are not in the engine.
Formula and method
pour chaque date D dans [début, fin] : classer D
Inclusive. Weekend = Saturday or Sunday (UTC).
Pâques = algorithme de Meeus (calendrier grégorien)
Easter Monday = Easter + 1 day; Ascension = +39 days; Whit Monday = +50 days.
The list kept is statutory holidays in metropolitan France as presented for the public. It does not include Good Friday or Dec 26, holidays in Alsace-Moselle, nor local overseas festivals. A company agreement, a bridge day, PTO, or an extra local holiday is not deducted. “Working days” that include Saturday are not this count: here Saturday is a weekend. If you need US federal holidays or a New York observed-Monday calendar, this page will not match payroll or court rules there — use weekends-only, or another calendar.
Worked example
Week of Monday Aug 24 to Friday Aug 28, 2026, no holidays
Start = 2026-08-24, end = 2026-08-28, holidays = no.
- Aug 24, 2026 is a Monday, the 28th a Friday.
- Five dates, none a weekend.
- Holiday option off: 5 business days, 0 weekends, 0 weekday holidays, 5 calendar days.
5 business days.
Around July 14, 2026, holidays on
Start = 2026-07-13, end = 2026-07-15, holidays = yes.
- July 13, 2026: Monday, business day.
- July 14, 2026: Tuesday, statutory holiday (Bastille Day) → weekday holiday.
- July 15, 2026: Wednesday, business day.
- Inclusive calendar: 3. Business days: 2. Weekday holidays: 1.
2 business days, 1 holiday falling on a weekday. Independence Day (July 4) is not in this French list.
Input notes
- Start date
- First day counted, including if it is a Saturday: it goes into weekends, not business days.
- End date
- Last day counted. Monday to Friday of the same week, with no holiday, gives 5 business days.
- Subtract statutory holidays (metropolitan France)
- “No”: only Saturdays and Sundays are removed. “Yes”: also remove metropolitan France statutory holidays that fall on a weekday. Not US federal holidays.
Assumptions and limits
Assumptions
- Business day = Monday–Friday, not Saturday.
- Inclusive interval.
- Holidays = metropolitan France list, Easter by Meeus, not Alsace-Moselle, not overseas, not US federal.
- Weekend is determined in UTC on the typed civil date.
Limits
- No Good Friday, no Boxing Day (Dec 26), no local festivals.
- No PTO, bridges, school holidays, or “working days” (Mon–Sat).
- A Sunday holiday does not add a legal makeup day: that is not modeled.
- Collective agreements that move May 1 are not read.
- US federal holidays, observed Fridays/Mondays, and state holidays are not implemented.
How to read the result
5 business days Aug 24–28, 2026 is a clean week. Around July 14, turning holidays on removes Tuesday the 14th: Monday 13 and Wednesday 15 remain. For a US filing deadline, the text may speak of calendar days, business days, or federal holidays: that is not interchangeable, and this engine’s optional list is French. For only 14 vs 15 calendar days, the “days between two dates” tool is enough.
Common mistakes
Counting Saturday as a business day.
Here, Saturday and Sunday are weekends. Working days (often 6/week) are not computed.
Turning holidays on for a US payroll calendar.
You get metropolitan France days (Bastille Day, All Saints’, Easter Monday…), not Thanksgiving or Memorial Day. Use weekends-only, or another tool.
Taking an exclusive interval (forgetting that the ending Friday counts).
Monday through Friday inclusive is 5 days, not 4.
Comparison
| Day | Type | In this tool |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, May 1, May 8, Jul 14, Aug 15, Nov 1, Nov 11, Dec 25 | Fixed | Yes, if holiday option |
| Easter Monday, Ascension, Whit Monday | Movable (Meeus) | Yes, if holiday option |
| Good Friday, Dec 26 | Alsace-Moselle | No |
| US federal holidays | United States | No |
Related calculations
- Days between two datesFrom January 1 to January 3, the exclusive gap is 2, the inclusive count is 3. Both are right; they do not answer the same sentence. This tool shows both, without choosing for you.
- Date differenceThe main result is a decomposition: 2 years, 5 months, and 10 days, for example. Total days sit beside it. That is not the same need as “how many stay nights.”
Frequently asked questions
Which holidays are subtracted?
The eleven statutory holidays of metropolitan France, if you turn the option on. Otherwise none.
Fixed: Jan 1, May 1, May 8, July 14, Aug 15, Nov 1, Nov 11, Dec 25. Movable: Easter Monday (the day after Easter), Ascension (Easter + 39 days), Whit Monday (Easter + 50 days). Easter 2026 is April 5, so Easter Monday April 6, Ascension May 14, Whit Monday May 25. This list follows the metropolitan calendar presented for the public, not Alsace-Moselle local law, and not the US federal calendar.
How is the date of Easter calculated?
By Meeus’s algorithm for the Gregorian calendar, not a hand-typed table.
Jean Meeus describes an integer calculation that gives Western Easter Sunday. It is used here only to place the three movable holidays. It is not the Orthodox computus (Julian calendar). 2024 (March 31) and 2026 (April 5) are known check points.
Does July 14, 2026 fall on a Tuesday?
Yes. In the July 13–15 example, it is removed from business days if the holiday option is on.
Without the option, July 14 counts as a Tuesday business day. With the option, it goes into “weekday holidays.” A May 1 on Sunday does not appear on that last line: it is already a weekend. July 4 (US Independence Day) is not in the list.
Business days or working days?
Business days = Monday–Friday here. Working days often include Saturday, excluding holidays.
Administrative language and collective agreements are not unified. This tool does not compute working days that include Saturday. If your text says working days, do not remove Saturday, or count otherwise. Displayed weekends give the number of Saturdays-Sundays in the inclusive interval.
Author and update
Written by Rédaction HexaCalc (editorial team). Content last updated: August 25, 2026. No third-party medical or financial review is claimed.
- Jours fériés en France — service-public.fr
- Jean Meeus — Astronomical Algorithms — calcul de la date de Pâques (algorithme de Meeus, calendrier grégorien) (1991) — Willmann-Bell
Without removing weekends
For the civil date gap alone, exclusive or inclusive, the other calculator touches neither Saturday nor July 14.
Count calendar daysCalendar count from the metropolitan France statutory holiday list and the date of Easter (Meeus). Not payroll, not a procedural deadline, not Alsace-Moselle local law, and not a US federal holiday calendar.
Category: Dates and durations